Shooting Star Lovers
by BassDS
Summary: Earth is at peace once more and love begins to bloom between Geo and Sonia, but the serene peace they've know for so long is now in danger of collapsing down atop of them, as they face an evil far stronger than anything they've encountered before; while at the same time, discovering a deeper connection between one another, with everyone's future and theirs at stake.
1. Ch1 Prologue, Part 1

Hey guys, BassDS back once again...

I'll be honest and I'm not going to sugar-coat it. I feel I've failed you all as a writer these past couple of years. Granted a lot has happened as time passed; dealing with my grandma's death, struggling to figure out how I wanted to do my videos and such (I actually have that taken care of now, so let's hope for the best), being tired from work at the end of the day and just wanting to relax and do whatever I wanted. I looked at writing as a chore, and looking back now, I was selfish; I wasn't being fair to any of your all that anxiously awaited update after update with all the long droughts and everything.

And so as such, here we are once again with the 3rd and FINAL press of the reset button for Shooting Star Lovers.

Granted there may not be a lot of people overly interested in the story, but I don't want to cheat out those that have been loyal and put up with all the hell I've caused the past couple of years. I WAS going to wait until New Year's Day, but what right do I have to make those that are awaiting updates wait any longer. Granted I'm not uploading everything all at once, we'll just take it as each day goes past until we're caught up where we last left off in the original upload.

So for those that are new and by whatever chance something compelled you to visit this story, and for those that are familiar with this concept; past screw-ups and all, allow me to elaborate on what Shooting Star Lovers is.

The original Star Lovers installments; as much as people liked them back when I uploaded constantly, were HEAVILY flawed; weren't though out properly, the plots were a mess, and to be honest, it kinda makes me cringe to go back and see how horrible my writing was back then for a 16-17 year old. Granted the main reason they were like that was because each installment was written right after the new games came out and each story was in between each game. At one point, I initially wanted to redo the first Star Lovers story under the name Star Lovers R.

That boat ended up sinking real fast as I lost interest and because Star Lovers 2 was more important at the time.

Then came 2009, and right away, I got drawn into the Kingdom Hearts series was as fascinated by the Final Mix concept the series had: re-releases of Kingdom Hearts I and II, packed with new content that expanded gameplay and the overall story canon. This led me to want to completely redo all of my entries after I had finished Star Lovers 4, but plot ideas began to conflict with one another and was dropped.

Eventually, I decided not base the new rewrites on the old stories, but craft an entirely new story from scratch, taking place several years after the events of Star Force 3. This became known as Shooting Star Lovers.

Granted, trying to make a plot that didn't sound completely stupid was challenging, as I wanted to try to remain within the game's canon, but give my story its own mythos to build upon. Eventually, the main bulk of the plot was figured out and everything looked bright.

Then my laziness and the reality of being an adult hit like a ton of bricks.

And so, here we are; we're starting this up again, hopefully for the last time, and it only seems appropriate, seeing as how it's closing in on the 10th anniversary of the original Star Lovers.

I know whatever I say can never make up for everything I've done AND haven't done. But if you're willing to give the story one last chance, I'll do everything within my power to make that chance worth something.

Thank you all.

* * *

Shooting Star Lovers

Ch.1 Prologue, Part 1 – Emotions

* * *

" _Where...where am I?" a young teen said as he found himself floating in a field of light._

 _He looked around the vast space, finding himself alone until a bright glow appeared before him, taking the form of a girl around his age. But not just any girl._

" _Sonia?"_

" _Hmm...yes and no." was the girl's reply as she turned to him; her body glowing as her hair that extended a bit past her shoulders floated behind her. "I'm a manifestation of your feelings."_

" _My feelings..."_

" _That's correct, Geo. I've taken the form of the girl you've known for years, your first brother, and more importantly, your first love..."_

" _Love...is that what I'm feeling?"_

" _Haven't you ever felt it before?"_

" _Of course I have! I've shown my love to my parents...just never to..."_

" _It's quite a difference, isn't it?"_

" _Yes...I've felt this way for years, but I've been to scared to say anything..."_

" _You fear rejection...that isn't uncommon. Everyone fears it."_

" _What if...she doesn't feel the same? What then?"_

" _Just like how you learned to walk as a child, you must take baby steps. Only then can you show her how you truly feel, and discover how she feels about you. You need to take that first step. If you don't, you'll never get anywhere." she said as she vanished._

" _That first step..." he said as the space glowed brightly, enveloping him into it._

* * *

"Geo, wake up! You're going to be late!" came a voice downstairs as the boy awoke to see the sun rising outside.

"OK, mom, I'm up!" he said as he yawned and rubbed his eyes. "That dream..."

He turned to his Hunter VG that laid on his nightstand to see a familiar being sleeping within it.

Geo's POV:

I'm Geo Stelar. I'm 18 years old, and a senior at Echo Ridge High, well, at least for the next two weeks with graduation nearing close.. And on top of that, I'm also a super hero...well, at least I was seven years ago.

I was only 7 when my father, Kelvin, vanished when he was on a space mission. Everyone assumed that he was dead. My mom, Hope, took it pretty hard, but I was affected the most. As such, I refused to go to school or make any friends. From that day on, I was a recluse.

Three years later, my life changed drastically. As I watched the stars atop Vista Point; mine and my dad's favorite stargazing spot, it seemed as if a shooting star struck the ground near me. It was then I met Omega-Xis.

Yeah, believe it or not, a real alien stood in front of me. Well...the scientific term would be an EM Wave Being, if you want to dig that deep into it.

Omega-Xis, or Mega to keep things shorter, was an EM being that betrayed his group of FM-ians, and as such, was on the run from them. Eventually, trouble followed right after him, and it was then I reluctantly joined forces with him, and we became a merged being. It was that moment I became Mega Man.

Mega was in possession of the Andromeda Key, which was the control of the FM King's greatest weapon, Andromeda. One after the other, his warriors would attack in their attempts to retrieve it.

It was also this event that lead me to meet my friends, Bud, Luna and Zack. Course then again, it was more of Luna wanting to drag me into school that caused me to meet them.

The main reason I chose to help Mega was because he said he knew about my father's whereabouts. But I never really got to interrogate him about it.

It was during one of the attacks that I met my first real friend...Sonia.

She was like me; suffering from the pain of losing someone close to you, in this case, it was her mother. Sonia loves to write and sing, and she mainly did it for her mother, but eventually, she was forced to sing for profit, and not from her heart. It was this that lead an FM-ian named Lyra to possess her.

I struggled to free Sonia, letting her know she wasn't the only one hurting. This in turn snapped her back into reality, and caused Lyra to defect from the FM-ians.

It was then Sonia became the first person I ever made a Brother Band link with.

Eventually, the sages of Planet AM, the sister planet of Planet FM that it destroyed appeared before me and Mega. Leo Kingdom, Dragon Sky and Pegasus Magic granted me their powers to combat the FM forces, and eventually, we found ourselves face to face with Cepheus, the FM King, and Andromeda. It was then I found out Mega was actually a survivor of Planet AM, and that in an effort to save my dad, whose space station was invaded by Cepheus' forces, transformed him into EM waves and scattered into space. So I at least knew, somewhere, my dad was still alive. With this knowledge and power we had gained, we went on to destroy Andromeda, and earn the trust and friendship of Cepheus.

It wasn't long after that that Mega and I were thrown into the myths of the legendary OOPArts; ancient relics of tribes that were the remnants of the continent of Mu. As such, we crossed paths with Solo, the last Murian survivor, and Dr. Vega.

Solo despised the idea of bonds, and as such, we clashed, staking my claims that bonds gave me the power to fight. Needless to say, he's a powerful warrior...and unknowingly, because of our differences, we had become rivals.

At one point, my friends were scattered across the world, and I set out to track down each one with Luna's help. Bud and Zack were easy to track down, but when it came to Sonia...

Sonia had allied herself with Vega, and as such, fought me to gain the OOPArts for her. Her betrayal really struck hard at me...she was my first friend and brother. After some encouragement, I fought Sonia once again, and our fight brought her real reasons of betrayal to light. Vega had threatened to destroy me to obtain the OOPArts, and Sonia joined up just to protect me from her.

With the bond between Sonia and I mended, things shifted badly as Dr. Vega managed to gain all three OOPArts and restored Mu. To make things worse, she had awakened Le Mu, an ancient guard system within the continent. With the last bit of the OOPArts power, we destroyed it and convinced Vega to turn over a new leaf. In reality, she only wanted to revived her lover, whose she had created her EM follower, Hollow, in his image.

A good time had passed when a new threat began to emerge. I and a few others were recruited to WAZA to fight off the threat of Meteor G; a giant sphere of noise that was controlled by the evil Mr. King and his group known as Dealer.

Arthur Eos, Ace for short, was a former member who now worked for the Satella Police. It was him that recruited Me, Sonia, Solo and Bud. Among Dealer were siblings named Jack and Queen Tia, who partnered with Corvus and Virgo, two traitors from Planet FM. Tia used to be Ace's girlfriend up until his defection, and she and Jack desired to use Meteor G to destroy the earth's technology, which was what caused a war that left them orphaned.

Eventually, Ace sacrificed himself to help destroy their base, as well as the EM being, Joker.

With this, Tia and Jack defected from King and set out to take over Meteor G for themselves. After facing the both of them, they gave up their desire for revenge and I made my way to face King before Meteor G crashed into earth. It would have, but luckily to my happiness and surprise, my dad was keeping Meteor G in check, until the core absorbed him and King, and I faced off against its Crimson Dragon that was created when King merged into the core.

I was victorious, but at that point, the only way for me to return home was for dad and Mega to set me on my way back down to earth. A few weeks had gone by after I returned. Ace was found alive and took him quite a while to heal. And luckily for me, Mega managed to return to earth, but not only that, I finally had my dad back with us as well. After three long years, Mom, Dad and I were a family again.

Seven years have passed, and luckily, nothing bad has happened. I've been able to live a normal life. But ever since that day on the beach pier; when we held hands...I've started to view Sonia as more than a friend...I've fallen in love with her...but I'm scared of her not feeling the same. I've taken on a meteor, a so-called god, and a weapon of mass destruction, and yet I can't tell one girl how I feel about her?

Man, I'm pathetic...

End POV

"Come on, Mega, wake up." Geo said as he came back from the shower and put his clothes on. His everyday attire now consisted of a white t-shirt with a red one over top it that he kept unbuttoned; the sleeves adored with the white marks that existed on his shirt when he was younger, a bright stripe of yellow circled the base of the short arm sleeves and the bottom of the shirt, and a thinner version of the dark-blue pants he used to wear.

"C'mon, Mega, quit moping and get up." he said as he slid on his treasured Star Pendant over his neck, as well as sliding his Visualizer on his head.

"I don't want to wake up. Lyra's going to be there. Quite frankly, she's been annoying as hell for weeks.

"In all honesty, you two bicker like an old married couple." Geo smiled as Mega batted an eye at him.

"That is nowhere near funny..."

"Then come on. I'm gonna be late." Geo said as he grabbed his hunter and headed down stairs, passing his parents and rushed out the door.

"My...he sure is in a rush today..." Hope commented as her son headed out the door.

"You know him; he's probably got something planned with his friends before school." Kelvin replied and went back to drinking his coffee.

* * *

"It feels nice out today..." Geo said as he laid atop the garden area of the school's roof and looked up into the sky.

"The breeze feels great." came a voice as he got up and looked behind him to see Sonia smiling.

"Sonia..." Geo said as he felt his heart skip a beat.

"Is that all you have to say? My name?" she giggled and sat down beside him, her heart beating faster as she got closer to him.

Sonia had changed over the years. She now wore a pink sleeveless blouse that remained unbuttoned, a light lavender spaghetti strap top underneath and rounding off with white shorts with a small stripe of pink on both sides of the leggings. She had let her hair grow out as well; the dark-pink strands ran down her back and stopped down near her waist.. She was slowly becoming a woman throughout the years, course none of this helped Geo's emotions stay under control. Damn puberty.

" _There it is again..."_ she thought as he heart pounded.

"So...how's everything with you this week?" Geo spoke, trying to make small talk, and to try and calm his nerves.

"I've been fine. My classes have been going well. It's hard to believe graduation is almost here."

"That's...that's good to hear..." Geo said, trying to hide the nervousness in his voice.

Sonia lightly blushed as she turned her head a bit so he couldn't see.

"What about you?" she said. "Has everything been alright with you?"

" _If you only knew...Damn it, why can't I tell her?"_ he thought. "Everything's been fine. Mega being himself as usual. Sometimes he can be hard to live with."

Sonia could always laugh. "Lucky for me, Lyra's a lot like I am. She's there for me when I need her..." she said as her mind trailed back to the other night.

* * *

The other night...

" _What am I going to do, Lyra? This is killing me inside..." Sonia groaned as she held onto her pillow as she laid on her bed._

" _Tell him how you feel, dear. You'll never feel better unless you do." the small FM-ian said._

" _But what if he doesn't feel the same? What if he rejects me...I don't know if I can take it..."_

" _Sonia..."_

" _Geo's been my best friend...my brother...things change with time...I can't deny it, Lyra...I love him...I don't want to lose that feeling..." she said as she softly cried._

" _Dear, you have to tell him. You'll never know if you don't try." she said as she used her small hand to wipe the tears from Sonia's eyes. "If you don't, you'll never know how he feels." she smiled._

" _Thanks Lyra..." she said and wiped the rest off. "So tell me...if you're so informative on this stuff...does that mean you love Omega-Xis?" she grinned._

" _Umm...let's not get into that...that has nothing to do with the issue at hand." Lyra said turning around and hiding her blush, leaving Sonia to laugh._

* * *

"You know, Sonia..." Geo said as he looked away from her and looked out to the sky. "I've been meaning to talk to you about..."

Sonia felt like her heart stopped. "What...about..." she managed to get out.

"Lately I've..."

"There you two are! Do you realize you only have ten minutes until classes start?" came a high-pitched voice as they turned to see Luna, Zack and Bud near the elevator door.

"Sorry about that, prez...we kinda lost track of the time." Geo said as he lightly forced a laugh.

"Yeah...sure you did...as the Senior Year president, It's my job to make sure everybody is on time for their classes. After all, I don't want any of you getting held back from being tardy to class. To be honest, I'd hate to graduate by myself." she said as she straightened her ponytail; she had long ditched the massive drills her hair was in, and went with something a little more formal back when they were in 8th grade.

"That's Prez; always thinking ahead." Zack said as he typed on his computer. He finally outgrew his shortness as was about as tall as Luna. His huge, square shaped glasses were replaced by small rounder ones, making him less geeky...well, the suspenders were still there, but they were hidden by his button-up suit.

"Mind if we get going? I want today to be over with so I can enjoy the weekend." Bud added. He got a bit bulkier over the years, as well as stronger, and on top of that, he was the tallest in the group.

"Right then...come on, you two, let's go." Luna said as she headed to the elevator with Bud and Zack in tow.

"She's right. Let's get moving." Geo said as he got up, but stopped once Sonia grabbed onto his arm.

"Wait, Geo..." she said looking into his eyes. "What were you going to say?"

" _Oh boy...I just HAD to start...think, Geo...think of something good."_ he thought. "I was heading over to Ace's later...was all. I was just wondering if you wanted to come along to WAZA."

Sonia's happiness faded, but she made sure not to show it. "Yeah, that's fine with me. It's been a while since I've seen them." she said and ran to the elevator. "You better hurry up." she said as he followed after her.

"That was close..." Geo said as he boarded and everyone went to their proper floors until he and Sonia were the last ones on until it came to hers.

"So after school...right?" she said.

"Yeah, I'll see you out front." he said.

Sonia turned to look at him and showed a smile, but as soon as the doors closed, tears began to well up in her eyes.

"This is too much...it hurts..." she whispered to herself.

Geo laid back on the wall as the elevator was heading down to his floor.

"What am I going to do!" Geo said as his fist hit the elevator wall.

* * *

Elsewhere, a small void was beginning to open up, slowly getting wider and wider until a cloaked figure stepped out and slid the hood of the cloak down, revealing a young woman as her long, white hair cascaded down her cloaked body and stopping right at the middle of her back; the front having two long bangs with two smaller bangs in the middle just barely covering her eyes; a small red circle and triangle mark resting below her left eye.

"Master, I have arrived." she spoke as she closed her eyes as she was being talked to from within her mind.

She stood silently as her violet eyes opened up once more.

"Yes Master, I understand. I will begin the search at once and begin the first phase of your plan." She said and looked over at the sea; Dream Island within her sights easily.

"And once everything is prepared, I WILL find you and repay you for what you did to me..." she said as a pained look of betrayal appeared on her face.

* * *

Later that day, Geo and Sonia dashed on over to WAZA from the wave roads as they dropped to the ground and powered down as they entered the large building.

"My my my...what a sight for sore eyes. I haven't seen you two here for a while." came a voice as they two looked up to see Dr. Goodall coming down the steps.

"Hey doc. You taking care of yourself?" Geo knelt down to her level.

"Of course I am. I may be 76, but I still feel as if I was 60." she smiled as she removed her glasses to wipe them. "Ace and Jack are in the control room, and Tia's tending to Alexis. The poor dear has come down with a bit of an upset stomach."

"Guess I'll head up and say hi, then." Sonia said as she headed up the stairs towards the elevator.

"Anywho...Ace is waiting for you, so you better hurry along." Dr. Goodall smiled as he headed up the stairs.

"Thanks, doc!" Geo said as he ran off.

"Now then...what was I doing before...oh right! Alexis' medicine! I almost forgot." she said as she headed back up the stairs and to the elevator.

* * *

"Well...look what the wind dragged in." Jack said as he turned to see Geo enter the room with Omega-Xis in tow.

"It's been a while, hasn't it?" Geo laughed at bit as Ace turned to see him.

"Well with nothing dangerous causing trouble anymore, there's hardly a reason for you to be here." Ace added.

Jack now had his hair grown out to be pretty long, and always wore a black and red blazer, while Ace kept to his usual attire.

"Well, that's what happens when you have school to keep you occupied." he said.

"Oh, there's more than that..." Mega said.

"Can it!"

"Hmm...once again, Mega digs his nose into business other than his own." Acid said as he appeared by Ace.

"No one asked you, Acidna."

"Ah...that reminds me." Ace said as he dug into his pocket. "Here's a little present." he said as he handed him two cards.

"Hmm? What are they?"

"They are tickets to the Stardust Speedway amusement park on Dream Island. I had planned on taking Alexis on Saturday for the summer opening, but with the upset stomach she has, it's impossible to get her out of bed; besides, the rides would be bound to make her sick more. So I figured I'd see if you'd have any use for them."

"Maybe..."

"So...are you and Sonia going steady yet?" Jack grinned as Geo turned red. After all, Prom IS at the end of next week.

"Not yet...I mean..eh...!" Geo said as he began to feel intimidated.

The two brother-in-laws laughed at Geo's response.

* * *

"Mommy, my tummy hurts..." the young girl whined as her mother poured a glass of water and set it down on the nightstand.

"You'll be okay...you just need some more rest is all, then you'll be back to normal." Tia said playing with her daughter's hair.

Tia had settled into her new life after Dealer. She and Ace had married a year after the Meteor G incident, and about half a year later, she found out she was pregnant with their first child. Alexis was her daddy's little angel and spoiled her every chance he got.

"Knock knock." Sonia said as she and Dr. Goodall appeared in the walkway into the little girl's room.

"Auntie Sonia!" she tried to say happily but was still strained a bit.

"Easy there, little one. Just rest. Here, I brought you your favorite grape medicine. Open up." Dr. Goodall said as she poured some into the cap and moved it to the little girl's mouth as she drank it down.

"So how's everything been for you Sonia?" Tia asked the young girl.

"To be honest...it could be better." she sighed.

"Oh?"

"Tia...how did you fall in love with Ace?"

"Uhh..say what?"

"I knew it; that look in your eyes told me everything." Goodall chuckled.

"Ohh...well um..." Sonia fidgeted a bit nervously.

Tia laughed a bit as she kissed Alexis to sleep and the three women walked out and headed down to the lobby.

"Ace was different back then...he had such a bad boy attitude to him. Even after he defected, I still loved him...it just took me a big wake up call to realize that." she said.

"I want to tell Geo how I feel...but I'm just scared...I don't want to be rejected or hurt." Sonia replied.

"Reminds me of my husband and I." Dr. Goodall said.

"You were married?" the two asked her.

"Yes...my husband. Even though he didn't find out he had HBD until his thirties, he made everyday count; even more so with the days we shared...bless his heart. I tried to convince him to take the surgery, but like always, he was stubborn. He absolutely refused to go under the knife."

"Sorry..."

"No, its quite alright. I don't talk about my husband much, but the moral of the situation is that everything is limited, and you need to act on it. All I'm trying to say is, Sonia, you need to say something before you run out of time. Anything can happen.

"I suppose you're right..."

"Of course I'm right! I am in my golden and wisdom years, after all." the old woman said as the other two chuckled.

"I just need to find the right time...the perfect moment..."

"Sonia..." Lyra said softly as she looked out to her friend.

* * *

It was getting dark out by the time Geo and Sonia made it back to Echo Ridge as they dashed along the wave roads until they came to Sonia's apartment.

"So...I guess I'll see you later this weekend." Geo said as they powered down and stood in front of the complex.

"Yeah...I'll see you later." she replied and headed in.

"Sonia..." Geo said softly as he moved his head down and walked home.

He headed down the street and came to his house as he entered to see his mom putting the finishing touches on dinner.

"And just where have you been, young man?" Hope turned to see her son walk in the door.

"I was just at WAXA with Sonia, seeing Ace and the others." he replied.

"You could have at least called..."

"Easy there, dear. I'm sure Geo has his reasons." Kelvin said as Geo sat down at the table and the cards fell out of his pocket.

"Hmm...what's this? Stardust Speedway?" Hope said looking at the amusement park tickets as she picked them up.

"Oh, Ace gave them to me. He meant to take Alexis, but she caught a cold."

"Are you going with anyone?" Hope asked smugly.

"Oh boy...here comes the interrogation..." Kelvin said.

"I'm gonna love this." Mega added. He enjoyed seeing Geo squirm in situations like this.

"I...wasn't sure if I was going yet or not..."

"What about Sonia? I'm sure she'd like to go."

"Mom..." Geo said as his face reddened.

"You can't lie to your mother...I've seen how you look at her." she smiled.

"Gah...mom...really..."

"Sorry son, but I think your mother has you red-handed." Kelvin laughed a bit as he looked at his son.

"Ok, fine, you win..." he sighed as he placed his head in his hand.

"My little boy's in love!" Hope giggled and held Geo close.

"Have you told her yet?" Kelvin asked.

"Are you kidding me? I haven't even worked up the nerve to even say anything...I'm too scared."

"I see...brings me back to your mother and I" his dad replied.

"You were such a chicken. You had to have Aaron push you into it and even approach me." Hope added.

"Yeah, and he never lets me live it down."

"You serious?" Geo asked.

"Dead serious. I was scared as hell of your mother rejecting me."

"But in the end, you hatched out of your little egg, and now here we are." Hope smiled.

"What should I do?"

"Well...that amusement park is a good first step. Just follow your heart and see what happens. You can't achieve anything by doing nothing, son."

"Maybe you're right..." Geo said.

"Of course he's right. He is your dad, after all." Hope said as she latched onto Kelvin's lips and brought him into a long kiss.

"Eww..." Mega noted as he turned away inside the hunter.

"I think I just lost my appetite..." Geo said putting his hand in his face.

* * *

The clock struck 1 a.m. As Geo's eyes stayed trained on his Hunter VG.

" _You can't achieve anything by doing nothing, son."_ he thought to what his dad had said earlier.

"I can do this...I can do this..." he said reaching for his hunter. "Damn it, I can't do it!" he said pulling his hand back and putting it under his chin as he looked at it more.

Geo took a deep breath and reached over and grabbed his hunter and pressed Sonia's contact button.

"Mmm...hello?" came Sonia's voice on the other end.

"Sonia, it's Geo. I was wanting to ask you something..."

* * *

The white-haired teen slowly made her way through the scrapyard of Dream Island as she began to sense the feelings of revenge in the air, eventually finding herself in front of a flight of stairs that led down to the room that had once held the recovered fragment of Peace, the space station that Kelvin had been aboard when he first met Omega-Xis, it also being the site where Geo and Mega made their way to the space station's remains and fought Cepheus and Andromeda; but it was also where the traitorous FM-ian Gemini fell to their hands.

"The core is reacting...this must be the place..." she said as she moved toward the center and held the dark red sphere in her hand as it glowed brightly.

"It's time..." she looked down as the sphere slowly floated from her hand and pulsated with power and began to cover the room in its aura, then slowly pulled the aura back towards it as a body began to form and take shape.

The room shook a bit and bolts of lightning and the sound of thunder rippled through as the sphere vanished and the body slowly vanished, then was quickly replaced by a mass of swirling energy that glowed red just as two masks; one black and one white appeared in the middle of it; the eyes glowing fiercely as the teen looked on with an emotionless look on her face.

"It's time to get down to business..." she said looking up at the newly-reborn Gemini.


	2. Ch2 Prologue, Part 2

Hey everyone, it's BassDS with the next chapter of this story arc.

Yeah, I know, you're probably wondering why I just don't upload everything I have all at once and be done with it, and really, the old me would have too, but I've learned to develop some patience on these kinds of things, but don't worry; we'll be caught up before you know it.

There is one subject I do want to touch upon, but that can wait until we reach that point in this arc, plus there's also been bit of a change from the original upload, but again, we'll delve into that as we go.

Regardless, I hope everyone's enjoying the story so far (even if these next couple uploads are nothing but repeats *sweatdrops*) for those that are new from just finding this story, and for any of you all who've read what's been uploaded before, I guess this could be considered a refresher course for you all, assuming its been quite some time since this story last caught your eye.

Hope everyone enjoys the chapter!

* * *

Shooting Star Lovers

Ch.2 Prologue, Part 2 – Shattered Peace

* * *

"I'm...alive?" Gemini said as he looked down and saw his basic wave form, his EM waves glowing bright red instead of the original yellow colors he possessed.

"You're alive due to my master...and as such, he requires your assistance." the teen spoke and looked up at him.

"Do you realize who you're talking to, human?" Gemini growled as his EM waves covered him and he transformed into his new form, looking just like he did as Gemini Thunder, except now he lacked the giant gold arms, his mask now had a gray triangle dividing it, with one side white and the other black, with each side crowned with a gold horn and red hair behind it, and his body was now completely gray, with red spiral markings over his arms and slowly leading down to his legs, and his signature red jewels that adorned his chest were now clear.

"Yes, I do. And you must also know while my master easily gave you new life, and he can just as easily have me take that life back as well. In other words, your life is in HIS hands now, so you'd best heed his demands."

"What's in it for me?" Gemini asked.

"My master has viewed the events of the last several years. He knows you desired to usurp the FM King and become king yourself. He can promise you that. You also keep the new life that has been granted to you."

"What makes you think I want that pitiful planet? I got something else in mind." he replied and turned his back toward her.

"Very well; accomplish your mission and you name your reward."

Gemini turned his head slightly to look at her. "Why me?" he asked in wonder.

"The reason you were revived is because of your past history with your target, and as such, you will prove to be a formidable foe for him; considering your new power." the girl stated. "Your target is a human going by the name Geo."

Gemini turned around fully so he could look at her. "Well..." he said as he cocked a grin. "Perhaps I CAN help your master out then...what does he want me to do?"

"My master wants him pushed to his limits, but how that happens is entirely up to you." she explained as the small void opened up. "He is to be left in one piece; after you finish, you have another target, but we'll reach that when we get there." she said and entered the void as it closed up.

Gemini watched as she vanished and began to chuckle. "Sorry, but I can't guarantee that..." his laugh growing into a maniacal fit. "When I'm done, he'll be in pieces all over this damn planet...I've got a score to settle with Mega Man and Omega-Xis." He grinned and vanished from the room.

* * *

"You feeling alright, kid? You've kinda been out of it since last night." Mega asked Geo from within his hunter as Geo sat on the railing at the Vista Point lookout with the city in his view.

"Yeah...just nervous about tonight is all." He replied as the cool breeze ran across. "I'm stressed out to no end..."

"If you're this on-end, then it really must be driving you crazy." Mega added.

"That's because if I screw up, it'll damage my relationship with Sonia; she's the first person I ever formed a Brotherband with, the first friend I had ever since the whole incident with my dad..."

"Ok, you've made your point...I guess I can KINDA understand where you're coming from here." the alien said, the situation his friend was facing being pretty much foreign to him.

"I've never been this stressed out in my life..." Geo said as he lowered his head and let out a sigh.

* * *

"I'm surprised, Sonia. I figured you would be pulling your hair out over all this." Lyra said as Sonia walked out from her closet dressed in her pink and lavender outfit.

"Heh...I feel like a train wreck inside at the moment..." she sighed a bit and moved over to her bed.

"Well you could have fooled me." Lyra replied and joined Sonia.

"That call gave me a little bit of hope that this might work out..." Sonia said as she laid down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. "Maybe he does feel the same way. Part of me is still scared of him rejecting me, but I'll never know if I sit around and don't do anything. That's why tonight I'm going to tell him...about how I REALLY feel..." she sighed heavily. "I've felt this way for seven years...it's a miracle I haven't gone completely insane from all this pressure." she added as she thought back to last night.

~Flashback: Last Night~

" _Sonia, sorry for waking you." Geo spoke as his image appeared in front of a drowsy Sonia._

" _Geo, do you have any idea what time it is?" she said rubbing her eyes as she held her hunter._

" _This was kinda last minute,_ _but I couldn't wait for the morning. I was calling to see if you wanted to...maybe go with me to Stardust Speedway on its first day of the summer season..."_ _he spoke a bit nervously and scratched the back of his head; his words almost snapping her wide awake. Was he ACTUALLY asking her out? She sat there speechless while her heart pounded at the same time._

" _Sonia, you OK?"_

" _Yea...I'm fine Geo, just still a bit tired." she lied to try and cover up her surprised look. "I've wanted to go there since last year, but are you sure you can handle the tickets? They are kinda pricey."_

" _It's covered. Ace bought some so he could take Alexis, but since she's sick, he asked if I wanted them, but if you've already got plans..._

" _No, I'd love to go." she smiled back at him. "What time do you want to meet up?" she asked._

" _Is eight ok with you?"_

" _Eight'_ _s fine. I'll see you tomorrow, Geo...and thanks."_

" _Well, I better be getting some rest too. Sorry for waking you."_

" _Not a problem. Night, Geo." she said._

" _Goodnight, Sonia." he replied as the screen vanished._

" _Did...did he just ask me out..on a date?" Sonia asked herself as she put her hand atop her chest where her heart was. She sat there thinking, trying to process all the thoughts in her head._

" _Should...should I tell him? No...I NEED to tell him...This is the moment I've needed to do this...whether he accepts me or rejects me, I need to tell Geo my feelings..." she said as she laid back down; her head swarming with even more thoughts._

~End Flashback~

"I need to make the most of this. It might be the only chance I have..."

"I'm sure everything will work out, Sonia." Lyra said and flashed Sonia her carefree smile.

"I really hope you're right, Lyra...I really do."

* * *

Geo walked down the street as he left Vista Point, only to have Bud and Zack literally run into him; knocking all three teens to the ground.

"Oww! What the..." Geo groaned as he rubbed his back and got up.

"Sorry about that, Geo. We're kinda in a rush." Zack said as he fixed his glasses up. "Well, correction; Bud IS, but I'm more patient."

"They just announced Burger Quest VIII, and we're heading down to make sure our copies are reserved before they stop taking them." Bud said as he dusted himself off. "Plus they close in forty minutes, so yeah, bit of a rush."

" _I'm surprised the series has even been running this long..."_ Geo thought as straightened his clothes. _"On top of that, these guys are just a few weeks away from graduating and still playing games. I guess some habits you never grow out of."_

"So where are you heading? You're usually at home around this time." Zack asked as his hunter display read 7:15 _._

"I am not gonna even ask how you know that. And I'd rather not say." Geo replied.

"Does it involve Sonia?" Zack asked with a sheepish grin on his face.

"N...no comment."

"You can tell us, or I can squeeze it out of you." Bud grinned as he cracked his knuckles.

"I gotta run! I'm gonna be late!" Geo said as he quickly transformed and jumped onto the wave roads and dashed away as the two boys looked up.

"Date?" Bud asked.

"Yea, it's a date." Zack replied.

"I don't mean to intrude, but the chances of Burger Quest VIII order supplies running out are 98%." Pedia's voice came as he and Taurus materialized from their hunters.

"That floating encyclopedia's right. We're running out of time." Taurus added.

Pedia was Zack's Wizard program that he had since the day he got his hunter. As for Taurus, he was formerly one of Cepheus' FM warriors who was originally destroyed, but his power lied dormant within Bud and came out on several occasions, and it was during the Dealer incident that Taurus was reborn from within Bud, and became his ally. During the years of peace, Bud had succeeded in converting Taurus into the easy, carefree life he lived.

"Let's go!" Bud grabbed Zack and put his underneath his arm as he dashed down the street to the store.

"Easy...you're making me nauseous..." Zack said as his face turned a little green.

* * *

"I got to admit, it was funny seeing you in that situation." Mega joked.

"Just shut it..." Geo said as he leaned against the bus stop sign. I'm already a nervous wreck as it is. I didn't need that encounter." he looked over as the bus came up the road and stopped in front of him and began letting people off.

"Stressed much?" came a voice as Geo looked over and saw Luna with her wizard Vogue by her side as she was getting off the bus.

"Oh...hey, prez." Geo said as he stood up and headed to the bus door.

"So...are you finally telling her?" she asked as she turned her head to look at Geo.

"Yeah...I'm telling her tonight..." he replied and walked to the steps. "I'm sorry, Luna..."

"There's nothing to be sorry about, Geo. The fact is, I lost. I made my confession, and I'm dealing with the results. I can see she's the one that's most important to you."

"She is..." he said as he turned to face her.

"Sonia's lucky to have someone that cares a lot about her. And to be honest, she needs someone like you in her life."

"Thanks, Luna." he smiled and boarded as the doors closed and the bus drove away.

Vogue looked up at her in wonder as she smiled and looked down at her wizard. "Come on, Vogue, let's go home."

* * *

The sun had begun to set and stars slowly formed in the night sky, just as the various lights at Stardust Speedway began to flicker on, slowly turning all that was golden yellow into a bright, neon purple, the park's citadel shining in the lights as laughter enveloped the area. Those that came to the park in the morning could experience the lush, nature hue of green that made the park seem almost wild. But for Sonia, she thought the place looked beautiful at night.

"So what do you want to go on next?" Geo said as he looked at her and smiled.

"Hmm...well, how about the Hyper Chase Coaster?" she asked and gave him an adorable look. "Please?"

"Let's go, then. We've got about an hour left until they close up."

"After the coaster...do you want to go on the ferris wheel?" she asked and blushed a bit, trying to hide in and her nervousness from asking him.

"That's fine with me..." he replied as she grabbed his hand in hers.

"Let's go!" she yelled and dragged him along, the skin contact between the two making Geo blush this time.

Up above, Lyra and Mega were keeping an eye on the two unsuspecting lovers.

"This is embarrassing to watch..." Mega said and placed a claw over his eyes.

"I'm finding it cute to watch. Don't they look like they'd make a great couple?" Lyra exclaimed as she watched the two rush off towards the coaster.

"Why are you asking me? I don't know zilch about romance." Mega barked back to her.

"Maybe you just need a woman that knows a thing or two about romance."

"Like you fit that description..." he shot.

"..." Lyra remained silent and shot a look at Mega before...

"OWWW!"

* * *

"I think I'm gonna be sick..." Geo said as the coaster ran through loops and up hills, but Sonia was completely ignorant of this, screaming her lungs out in excitement in the process as they rode in the blue cart up in front, with a pink cart attached behind it, while at the same time, a dark blue and silver mechanical cart was chasing after the two.

One ear-bleeding scream and near motion sickness later, the carts returned to the loading area as the bars rose to release the two, with Geo making a dash to the nearest trash can in the event he couldn't keep his stomach down.

"That...was..." Sonia laughed and leaned against the bars next to the exit.

"Gimme...a moment..." Geo breathed out.

"First time on a roller coaster?" she asked, receiving a nod as his reply.

As Geo looked down into the trash can, he felt a small pain in his chest and clenched it, it might have been small, but it felt as if a blade was poking through him.

"Geo...are you okay?" Sonia asked as she saw him and moved near him.

"Yeah...never felt better..."

"You sure?"

"Yeah...come on, let's get on the ferris wheel before the park closes." he flashed a smile and reassured her that he was fine.

"Let's not rush, give your stomach a chance to settle while we walk." she replied as they headed off.

" _What...was that pain I felt? It was almost like was ripping right through me."_ Geo thought as they walked down walkway towards the small line for the ride.

* * *

Elsewhere, a young man around Geo's age was looking up at the moon before turning his eyes to the theme park; his white hair reaching the middle of his back while his bangs covered his red eyes; gold square-shaped earrings hanging from both his wore a black outfit with blue stripes placed in various parts, but was devoid of sleeves, instead showing off the strong arms that had been built from years of training.

"...zzzzttttzzzz..." said the wave being that appeared next to him, its EM body glowed a dark blue, as silver pads adorned its shoulders and rings around its wrists, keeping its yellow eyes trained on his master.

"I can feel the pulses too..." he said looking out at the park. "The crest is ready to rise...I didn't expect it to remain in his body THIS long..."

"...zzzzttttzzz..."

"Like I care...come on, time is wasting; let's go, Laplace." the man said as he jumped atop the wave roads and dashed toward the park.

* * *

The two stood in line as a few more people got on into the pods until a free one appeared for them to board as the door opened to allow them access.

"I can't wait to see what everything looks like from up on top." Sonia said.

"Me either." Geo replied as the door closed and the wheel began to turn, then stopping to let others on.

"So...do you have any plans after graduation?" Sonia asked quietly.

"I'll be starting college once summer is over. I'll only be going for three years, though. I'll be in a program that Mr. Boreal and AMAKEN is working with the university in. But I'll still be at home instead of staying at the dorms there. What about you?"

"I'll be staying in Echo Ridge too...it's practically my home now; I could never leave it...as for my future, I know what I want, but it all depends on how things go, to be honest. It's not something I can get on my own..." she gripped the seat arm tightly.

Eventually, the remaining pods were filled and the wheel began its cycle, bringing theirs high up to bring the entire park into their view.

"It's so beautiful..." Sonia spoke. _"Now's you chance, Sonia...tell him..."_ she thought.

" _Come on, Geo...man up!"_ he thought as he turned to Sonia. "Sonia...there was something I wanted to tell you..."

This caused her to look over at him and look into his eyes.

"We've known each other for a good number of years...back when dad went missing, I had no one, I refused anyone who came near me...but when Mega showed up, it threw my life for a loop. One minute I was a kid all alone, then the next, I'm fighting aliens...then I met you, and had to fight against you, and before I knew it, you started to slowly break down that emotional barrier that shielded and isolated me. "You were my first friend..."

"You've been mine as well..." she said and looked down at their feet. "From that moment when mama died, I was all alone; I had no one. I was hurt. But then Lyra entered my life, and then the next thing I know, you did."

"We've been friends for so long, Sonia, but..."

"But..."

"I've started..." he began and placed his hand atop hers, but froze up and hesitated, until Sonia slipped her hand from under his and placed it atop his instead.

Before another word could be said, the electricity in the park began going haywire, fading in and out as fuses blew; the lights that changed the park's look during the day was out of control as well, resulting in the sky turning red as lightning bolts flashed, the buildings and scenery taking on a damaged look, as the pathways were a multitude of gray and dark purple colors as everyone erupted into a panic.

Mega and Lyra appeared beside the two inside the pod after feeling the power surge and came to see if they were okay.

"Everyone alright?" Lyra asked.

"We're fine, but what's going on!?" Sonia said as she and Geo stood up and looked out at the park and the people.

"What's going on, indeed..." laughed a voice as lightning struck a nearby tower and Gemini stood before them with one hand holding on to the small rod atop the tower. "Miss me?"

"Gemini!?" Geo growled as he looked at him.

"Correction...It's Gemini Genesis now. And I'm better than ever."

"But how?" Mega said as his eyes widened, almost as if he was looking at a ghost.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Like I'd tell you. And besides, I'm here to have some fun...and to repay you for destroying me and ruining my plans!" he said as he formed a thunderbolt in his hand and threw it at them.

"Transcode 003: Mega Man!"

"Transcode 004: Harp Note!"

The two vanished as the bolt destroyed the pod and they reappeared on the top of the ferris wheel.

"I'll handle Gemini; you get everyone off this thing before he ends up destroying it!" Mega Man said as he jumped and lunged at Gemini.

"Be careful!" she cried with a worried look on her face.

"Come on, dear...we've got work to do." Lyra spoke to her.

"Right..."

* * *

"Battle Card: MadVulcan3!" Mega Man summoned two gatling guns on his arm and fired at Gemini Genesis, who avoided them with ease as he came up and held his fingers together to create a blade of electricity and cut one of the gun's top, preventing it from firing as it reverted back to Mega Man's hand.

"Aww...did I cut your little gun down to size?"

The response he got was the other gatling gun getting slammed in his face and knocking him back.

"Aww...did I damage your pretty little mask?" Mega Man replied. "Battle Card: SwordFighter X!" The gatling gun vanished and a blade of EM energy took its place.

"Blade for blade, huh?" Gemini Genesis enveloped his arm from the hand to his elbow in electricity as he swung and their swords met.

"Time for some close-range attacks, Geo!" Mega said.

"I'm on it!" he replied as their blades clashed again. "Battle Card: Destroy Upper!" he called as his fist enlarged and he landed an upper cut under Gemini Genesis' chin.

"Gaaahhh..." he groan as he moved back and regained his composure.

Far away from the battle, the girl appeared again as she watched the two duel.

"So far so good..."

Gemini Genesis flew into a rage and charged towards Mega Man, only to find himself restricted by guitar strings and he looked down and saw Harp Note keeping him bound.

"I'm here, Geo! Everyone got out of the park; its just us and him now!" she said.

"Why you..." Gemini Genesis growled down at her and was distracted long enough to have Mega Man land another Destroy Upper on him, breaking the strings and sent him down into the ground.

"Well...this is utterly humiliating to watch..." the girl said and held her hand up. "This is all the help you get." she said as her hand glowed with a dark aura, and it vanished as it appeared around Gemini Genesis, giving him the power to rise as the aura sunk in and powered him up.

"GRAHHH!" he yelled as his arms turned into their large, golden forms and he dashed towards Harp Note and slammed her to the ground.

"Ahhhh!'

"Sonia!" Lyra cried.

"Sonia!" Mega Man said as he headed toward her, only to have the pain in his chest return, this time it felt as if his heart had been stabbed. "Aaaaaahhh..." he cried in pain.

"Thunderforce!" Gemini Genesis raise his arm as he shot out a burst of lightning and thunder from his hand as he struck Mega Man and sent him falling to the ground.

"No...Geo!" Harp Note struggled to get up, and upon seeing him falling, rage swelled up inside her and she charged toward Gemini Genesis.

"Cute...but it's no use..." he grabbed her in his hand and conducted a flash of lightning as it shocked her enough to cause her to pass out and knock her out of her wave form; her hunter hitting the ground as he looked over at Mega Man.

"I'll be waiting..." he laughed as he wrapped Sonia under his arm and vanished in a flash of light. "Just try and find me...assuming you have enough life left in you." his voice echoed.

"This was not part of the plan..." the girl said as she attempted to sense Gemini's darkness, but before she could, she saw a figure appear out of nowhere and landed toward Mega Man.

"Who is that?" She jumped atop the buildings to move in closer.

* * *

"Kid, get up!" Mega called out to try and get his partner moving.

"You try getting up after a blow like that..." he replied as he looked over and saw something walking toward them.

"Pathetic...to think you defeated me, only to be knocked around like a doll...looks like your bonds and links are getting thinner by the years." the figure said as it walked over to him, the light revealing the white haired man.

"Nnnhh...Solo..." he looked to see the young man.

"Transcode 002: Rogue" he transformed into his wave human form as he held his purple hand out toward Mega Man's chest.

"What are you...doing...gah..."

"Taking what is rightfully mine after all these years. The crest is rising, and the Mu Metal is ready to be harvested. Not the way I originally intended to take it back from you, but after waiting this long, I'm willing to make an exception..." Rogue said as his hand faded into Mega Man's chest, causing him to groan out as Rogue's hand retracted, and he held a black hexagon adorned with the Mu insignia.

The girl landed atop a roof to see the two, and her eyes widened upon seeing the Mu insignia on Rogue's chest. "It's him!" she moved to get ready to jump down, but grabbed her head in pain as she fell to her knees.

" **No...you will wait...; heed my command now, and find the FM-ian. That is an order..."** a dark, cold voice echoed in her mind.

"Nghh...but I'm so close..." she cried as her head throbbed a bit more before it died down. "Very well, master...your command shall be followed..." she submitted to her master's demand and stood up and turned away, but looked back at the two.

" _I WILL face you soon, Solo, and when I do...you'll pay for leaving me for dead..."_ she thought and glared down at him before leaving.

"Rogue..." Mega Man said as he looked up at him and saw him walk away.

"Rest; get your strength back...I'll look for your little friend. I'm only doing this to repay you for holding on to this for me, even if the only reason you ever had it in the first place was due to me letting you face Sirius in my place. Consider this a one-time-only thing." he looked back down at him as he tossed the Mu Metal in his hand.


	3. Ch3 Prologue, Part 3

Hey guys, BassDS here. Hope you all are enjoy your New Year so far...hopefully I can say the same in time; depends on how things and several plans of mine go. For all I know, I could have a troubling monkey wrench just throw itself into whatever I have plan and outright ruin it, and considering my track record at making plans...well, let's hope it doesn't come to that.

But enough of my senseless chatter, I know why you all are really here, so enjoy the next chapter to your fullest content.

Yeah, I know, these forewords are really lacking, but what do you expect; these chapters have been written for well over three years now. Just try to bare with it until I can get a proper update schedule in place.

* * *

Shooting Star Lovers

Ch.3 Prologue, Part 3 – An Unlikely Alliance

* * *

"Solo..." Geo said as he looked up at the Murian.

The white-haired man said nothing as he turned his back as he and Laplace vanished.

"Arrogant as ever." Mega said as he growled a bit.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually agree with the mutt on this." Lyra said as she appeared beside the two and looked at Mega, while trying to regain some of her strength.

"Well, that's Solo for you...what did you expect? Ahhh..." Geo replied, the stinging pain from earlier still lingering.

"As much as I hate that stuck-up punk, he's right; rest for a bit, kid." Mega said. He found it really odd that Mega was actually showing some concern. "Especially after you took the brunt of that attack. What exactly happened? One minute we're fine, and then the next, we're sitting ducks."

"I don't know...it felt as if something pierced through my heart, then my whole body was frozen in pain..." he spoke as he clutched his chest. "I've never felt anything like this before..." he said and struggled to get sitting up, only to lay back down on the ground.

"Oh no you don't, Mega's right, Geo; you need to rest." Once again, Lyra looked over at Mega; once again finding herself actually agreeing with the AM-ian.

"Not while Sonia needs my help..." Geo sighed as he endured the pain he was feeling to sit up, succeeding this time.

"We'll get her back, Geo...assuming Solo doesn't get to her first. But what I want to know is exactly how Gemini is even alive in the first place." Lyra said. "Could it be that boy you once knew; the one Gemini took over during the FM-ian invasion?"

"You mean Pat?" Geo replied.

"No way; although he was able to take the form of Gemini Spark when we fought him in Wazzap years ago, it was only residual data; not the real Gemini. And while we were fighting, I didn't sense any signs of human life, so this definitely the real Gemini."

"Plus Pat's been missing ever since the Meteor G incident...so it's safe to say he's not involved..." Geo added as he thought of his missing friend. "But since this is Gemini, what I want to know is how he's even alive, and how did he get so powerful...he was never that strong all those years ago..." he pondered.

"As much as I hate having my pride hurt, I'll admit; he threw us around like rag dolls...I just don't get it. We had him right where we wanted him and then the next thing we know, we're eating concrete. Was he just toying with us?" Mega asked.

"He certainly did a number on us..." Lyra added.

"I don't know..." Geo said as he looked on at the faraway towering citadel situated in the middle of the park. "But no matter now bad I'm hurting right now...Solo's going to need some help; otherwise he'll get the same beating we did." Geo said and struggled to his feet as Mega grabbed onto him to help him stand as they began walking, moving over to pick up Sonia's hunter as he placed it in his pocket.

"Take it easy, kid." Mega said.

"I'll be fine...we've been through worse, remember?" Geo grinned slightly to his partner.

This made Mega grow a smile on his face.

"I gotta admit; you've really grown, kid. Guess I must have rubbed off on you." Mega looked back down at him.

"I honestly don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing..." Lyra grimaced a bit at the thought.

" _I won't rest until I make sure Sonia's safe...not until she knows everything._ He thought as he looked up at the night sky. _Mega has a point, though...just what's wrong with me? Where's this pain coming from?"_ Geo's mind pondered as he made his way down towards Stardust Speedway's citadel.

* * *

Deep within the heart of the citadel, Gemini Genesis dropped Sonia to the ground and cackled at her passed out form.

"You'll make the perfect bait; He'll show up eventually...Then you can both die together; only seems fitting, especially after what you two along with Lyra and Omega-Xis did to me."

Gemini flinched a bit as he looked out the corner of his eyes to see the cloaked white-haired woman behind him.

"You are not acting in my master's best interests..." she stared him down; almost as if her violet eyes were piercing right through him. "The girl was not to be dealt with until Mega Man was pushed to his limits."

"Well forgive me; she got in the way. Nothing I could do about it; she was going to be next anyway, so why worry? Consider it planning ahead. If anything, I can use her to push Mega Man to his limits." he grinned. He hoped she hadn't heard him just now.

The woman looked on in silence.

"Ahh...see? There's something you hadn't thought of. Just have a little faith in me; after all, I left Mega Man in a pile of rubble."

"Watch yourself. The only reason you had such an advantage after getting knocked around so easily was because I infused you with more of the energy from my master. Seeing you getting thrown around was rather disappointing and embarrassing. I could have easily left you to your second demise." she bluntly pointed out.

Gemini gulped and thought the situation over; she gave him life and could easily delete him without issue or warning. He pondered over this for a small bit.

"Very well...I see your point. No need to state the obvious; I know you have say over my current existence."

"Since things have veered off-track, I take it you have a plan?" the woman responded.

"You needn't worry; Mega Man will be pushed to his limits, as per your master's demands." Gemini said in an attempt to move the situation to his advantage.

The woman stared at Gemini as she rose her hand up to the left of her and opened a portal. "Very well; I'll leave you be to do as you see fit to accomplish your orders; but the moment you decide to try something; rest assured, my master will destroy you, despite his current state."

"I wouldn't dream of it." Gemini said as he bowed down.

The woman stared on at him as she walked into the portal as it faded behind her.

Once she was gone, Gemini turned his attention back to Sonia as he pondered his current dilemma.

"Very off-track is far from it; as it is right now, I'm on a tight leash at the moment...perhaps its best for me to just play along for now...as for this master, I'll just wait for the right moment. If I play my cards right, I can get rid of him as well as Mega Man. Then I don't have to worry about being deleted." he said to himself as it started to rain and thunder filled the darkened night sky. As lightning filled the room through the window, Gemini turned his attention back to Sonia.

"Now then...as for you; I believe you're going to help me destroy Mega Man...as long as I have you, you'll be the perfect shield." he grinned and held his hands up, creating a black and a white orb in each. "But first...let's have something fun ready for when he gets here."

"Geo..." Sonia murmured subconsciously.

* * *

Solo stood in front of the large doors leading into the citadel as Laplace hovered behind him.

"I can feel it...this is just the kind of power I need to test the Mu Metal on." he smirked as Laplace began making its unusual form of communication.

"...zzzzzzzttttzzzz..."

Solo groaned as he look out the corner of his eye and saw Geo standing a good distance away from him; still showing his worn-down state.

"I thought I told you to leave this to me."

"Look, I know you don't really care for my input." Geo began to speak.

"You got that right. Now why don't you leave before I decide to make you into target practice."

"I don't care how hurt I am, and I know you don't like getting any help from others, but just this once, let me help you. Just look at me; this is what he's capable of." Geo remarked to him.

"It also proves you'll just be dead weight."

"And how do you know that? You don't know the enemy like we do." Lyra protested. "Well...like we did before today..."

"The harp's right; Gemini is a slippery one, and you've never dealt with him before." Mega added.

"Whether you want my help or not, Solo, I'm going in to get Sonia and finish Gemini off for good, and I'm not letting you stop me." Geo stared down the back of the man's head.

Solo snorted lightly; every time they came to clash with one another; it was always Geo's bonds against his lone ways; complete opposites crashing together. As much as he didn't want to, he pondered what would happen if the Mu Metal wasn't enough. As much as he preferred keeping his lone pride, he recalled the times he had helped Geo out when he could have easily left him for dead. He had to set aside his pride; at least for now, and reach a compromise.

"Come along if you want; it's your funeral."

"Thanks..." Geo replied.

"But once this is over, our little pact is through; you're actually taking a big risk right now, I could easily strike you down while your back is turned." he grinned.

"Don't you worry, I won't give you the chance." Geo retorted and turned to gaze at Mega and Lyra; receiving a smile from both, knowing the AM-ian and FM-ian had his back.

"Now then; allow me...Beast Slap!" Mega charged at the doors and slashed into them with his claws.

"Let's get this over with; the sooner, the better." Solo said kicking in the broken remains of the giant doors as he walked in.

" _Hold on, Sonia. I won't let anything happen to you; even if it means dying."_ Geo thought to himself. He was determined to make sure Sonia was safe, even if it meant a high price.

* * *

Elsewhere, the white-haired woman stood atop the ferris wheel as her eyes gazed upon the citadel from afar.

"He's over there, and I can't do a thing about it!" she gritted her teeth.

" **Patience...you will have your reward soon enough."** the voice of her master spoke as it filled the air.

"As much as I don't trust that giant lightning rod, what if he fails to push Mega Man to his limits?"

" **If he fails, he fails. In the event that does happen, its no loss to me. For everything to work, both of the humans will need to be pushed to their peaks. If Gemini is to fail in his mission, I have another plan that will guarantee the light within them will emerge; if not all, then some. Just enough to free me from the Chaos Void, and to add to my slowly growing power. Just enough to rip it all from their souls."**

"Why them? What's so special about those two?" she asked, only to feel pain in her head.

" **None of your concern. Your only focus is to release me, and only then will you get your revenge. Don't forget I am the one that saved you."** the master's voice echoed as the dark presence vanished.

"Yes...it is not my place to ask questions..." she replied as she watched on; waiting for the struggle to begin. "But when I have fulfilled my mission...Solo...I promise it will be you that falls into death's embrace as I almost did; except you WON'T make it out alive..."

* * *

"Hmm?" Solo stopped and looked straight on in front of him.

"What is it?" Geo asked as he looked and stared at the darkened end of the room as figures moved through the shadows as they walked out.

"Looks like company." Solo said.

Before them were the original forms that Gemini had once assumed when fused with Pat, but while both figures sported the giant arm on one another, one was completely black; the other pure white, almost as if they were nothing but blank puppets.

"Creepy..." Lyra spoke up.

"Creepy or not, we've got to smash through them." Geo said as the two monochrome Gemini clones lunged out at them.

"Transcode 002: Rogue!"

"Transcode 003: Mega Man!"

Light filled the room as the two rivals appeared in their wave forms and dodged the Gemini clones as their fists struck the concrete floor.

"Flying Knuckle!" lunging out at the black clone, Rogue dove down to land a hit followed by two more made of EM energy, only to have the clone match him fist for fist as they collided, but soon moved as it turned around and fired several shots of electricity at Rogue, only for it to be nullified by his Mu Rejection barrier.

"Nice try, but not good enough. Rogue Fist!" Rogue slammed his fist into the face of the clone, followed by two more fists and a back flip kick charged with his EM energy; sending the clone into the floor.

"Mega Buster!" Mega Man fire shot after shot towards the white clone; only to have them brushed off with ease as the clone fired off its rocket fist and was able to take advantage of his weakened state and struck Mega Man in the back.

"Ahhh!" Mega Man groan as he fell to his knees while the clone began walking over to him.

"Geo, you ok?" Mega asked with concern in his voice.

"Nnngh...I'm fine..."

"Geo, use some recovery cards; I'll do my best to try and increase their output." Lyra said to him; wanting to do what she could to help in her current situation.

"I'll try..." he groaned. "Recovery 300!" the data inside the hunter caused his body to glow brightly as it and Lyra began to slowly give him more power.

"We'll just have to do our best and tough it out now." Mega said.

"Easier said than done..." Mega Man replied as the clone began to create its ElecSword from its hand. "Two can play at that game...Battle Card: SonicSword!" His buster was replaced with a piece of red armor on his hand as a blade of green EM energy took shape from its core just in time to clash with the clone's blade.

"Laplace!" Rogue called out as the EM being appeared and took on its sword form as Rogue grabbed on to the handle and swung it hard at the black clone as it created its own ElecSword to counter. "Sorry, but when it comes to swords, I ALWAYS make the cut!" Rogue spun around and swung the Laplace Blade as it easily cut through the clone's blade, as well as leaving a deep gash upon its chest, revealing its core.

"Well what do you know? The jerk found a weak spot to these fakers." Mega said as he appeared from within Mega Man and lunged at the white clone "Thanks for the tip! Beast Slap!" Mega's claw dug deep into the clone's chest as it exposed its core as well.

The clones jumped back and moved side by side as they placed their golden arms against each other and began to charge up their Gemini Thunder.

"I've been hit by this thing before..." Mega Man said as he landed beside Rogue. "And it's not pretty."

"I can second that." Lyra added.

"Same here." Mega joined in.

"Try me." Rogue smugly replied as the clones fired their Gemini Thunder attack at the two.

Rogue jumped forward as he held on to the Laplace Blade tightly and easily cut through the attack with no issue at all. "Do it now!"

"Right! Battle Card: SwordFighterX!" Mega Man said as another sword appeared on his other arm; the green blade giving off a darkened tint as he used both swords to strike the cores of both clones; the resulting shockwave blowing him back a good bit.

"Did it work?" he groaned and saw that despite the cores being deleted, the clones still stood as they slowly began to merge together; filling in each others missing data as it now took a single form made of EM waves.

"Does that answer your question?" Rogue said as he looked down at the fused clone.

"What; does he have jokes now?" Mega retorted.

The clone raised its hand and began to create a huge ball of electricity; draining the power from the lights and electronics that remained in the room as it grew bigger.

"I REALLY don't want to feel that." Mega gulped looking at the size of it.

"And this is coming from someone whose been on a meteor made of noise." Lyra said.

"Totally different things, you out-of-tune harp."

"Not really the time now for bickering." Mega Man said as he looked up and saw Rogue move closer to the clone. "Rogue, what are you doing!?"

"It's time..." he smirked as he held the Mu Metal in his hand. "It's finally time!" he called out as he placed the Mu Metal on the flat part of the Laplace blade and it began to sink into it; the Mu insignia glowed bright red as the blade began to take a new shape, losing its distorted look and formed a semi-linear style with a grove in the blade at the hilt and near the top with the opposite side having a smaller blade edge jutting out and curving slightly before it ran down to the hilt; another smaller part of the blade curved outward near the hilt on the backside of the sword, with the blade itself now totally black; the Mu insignia pulsing with power as Rogue held his sword up high.

"Prepare to become my sword's first victim..." he grinned as his eyes glowed red along with the Mu insignia upon his chest. "Behold the Destructix!"

The clone raised its other hand up as it proceeded to throw the huge ball of electricity at Rogue as his blade took on a red aura. With one swing, Rogue cut through the mass of energy as the Destructix absorbed its power.

"No way..." Mega Man and the others looked on at the sight before them.

"Now disappear! Vanishing Rogue Break!" Rogue swung the powered up blade down onto the energized clone as he cleaved it right down the middle, resulting in the clone's permanent deletion.

"What did...wow..." Mega Man could only look on as Rogue stood up.

"Consider that a sneak peek of what awaits you the day we finish things." Rogue said as he rested the blade upon his shoulder. "Now let's get moving, before I change my mind." he said and walked toward the stairs at the end of the room.

"Solo..." Mega Man said as he looked on at him.

" _Finally...I have all the power I need..."_ Rogue thought as he walked upon the stairs and grinned; knowing the next time he and Mega Man fought, he'd have the edge in their struggle.

* * *

Meanwhile, at WAZA, the command center was overrun with officers assessing the chaotic disturbance as Ace waiting on word from the team of Satella police officers he had sent out.

"Ace, I've received word back from the units around the park. They are unable to enter it. It seems a strong electromagnetic barrier is preventing them from entering." Acid relaid to his partner.

"Is everyone accounted for? We need to know if anyone is still inside the park." he asked as Tia came up beside him as he put his face in his hand."I can't believe this is happening..." he groaned.

"Are you ok, Ace?" she asked.

"Yeah...I'm just stressed...I need to be out there. Sometimes I really regret being chief; not being able to do anything at all from in here. Especially after we haven't had any real problems like this since Dealer." he sighed.

"You're doing the best you can." she said as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "You can do enough here as you can out there."

"Sometimes I wonder what I'd do without you...you put my mind at ease." he tilted his head back and looked into his wife's eyes as she inched her face closer to his."

"That and more..." she whispered and was ready to dive in for a kiss.

"Am I interrupting something?"came Jack's voice as he appeared on the holo-screen of Ace's hunter. This earned him an embarrassing glare from the husband and wife.

"So, um...*cough* what's the situation, Jack? Did everyone evacuate in time?" Ace asked.

"From what I can tell from the attendance reports they provided, it looks like it."

"What about Geo and Sonia? Have you see them?" Ace asked.

Jack thought for a moment and remembered they were suppose to be here tonight. "Now that you mention it, no. Could they still be inside the park?"

"I hope they're okay..." Tia lamented.

"Let me see...it's hard to scan the area with that much electrical disturbance, but maybe...Acid, can you try boosting the scanner's power?" Ace looked to his partner.

"Already on it; I've successfully penetrated the disturbance and I'm scanning now, but its hard to keep a lock on." Acid replied as he began to download the data from the WAZA's scanner.

"Just hold out a bit longer..." Ace said as he watched the last bit of data download into the system.

"Transcode Numbers 002 and 003 are currently active." Acid relayed as he read through the data.

"What the heck is Solo doing here?" Jack asked. "I doubt he came here for the cotton candy."

"What about Sonia?" Tia asked worryingly.

"Her TC Number was active earlier from what the data suggests...but it's offline at the moment." Ace said as he rested back into his chair.

"Well, whatever is going on in there, let's just hope Geo and Solo aren't trying to cut each others heads off." Jack replied. "Not much I can do out here."

"We'll just have to hope the three of them are fine..." Ace sighed. "It's all we can do."


	4. Ch4 Prologue, Part 4

Greetings, everyone, BassDS back once more with the next chapter of Shooting Star Lovers as we reach the half-way point of the current re-uploads. I know there may not be many reading the story, but for those that have, I appreciate you all taking the time to do so, even if I don't deserve it from my past screw-ups. But hey, it's a new year, so what better way than to embrace it than trying to right the wrongs you've done in the past year, or in my case, the past three years.

Yeah...I got a LOT of making up on that one.

I'll have a little bit more to talk about some changes I've made next chapter, so until then, I hope you all enjoy.

* * *

Shooting Star Lovers

Ch.4 Prologue, Part 4 – Three Simple Words

* * *

Mega Man and Rogue made their way up the winding staircase as they finally reached the skylight of the citadel; shards of glass that fell from the dome ceiling shattered into pieces as the rest above them hanged on slightly.

"I was wondering when you would show up...I was getting pretty bored..." Gemini's voice echoed as he emerged from the dark shadows that filled the room.

"Where. Is. Sonia!?" Mega Man shouted in anger.

Gemini grinned as he held up a small glass orb on a chain with Sonia held within it; still passed out. "Sorry if she can't hear you; she's a little _tired_ out at the moment."

"Wretched little..." Lyra seethed in anger.

"Sonia!" Mega Man lunged toward Gemini Genesis, only to be blown back by the small barrier of electrical energy surrounding him.

"Hahahaha...you can't even touch me! Tell you what, I'll let you try again..." he said as he spread his arms out, practically inviting them to attack him.

"Easy, Geo...there's no point in being goaded by him. Otherwise we'll end up like bugs flying right into the zapper." Mega said.

"Well then what do you suggest?"

"How about grow a spine?" Rogue said as he dashed toward Gemini Genesis

"Ah, it seems we have another misguided fool. What makes you think you can do any better?" Gemini Genesis smirked as his intensified his shield just as Rogue swung his Destructix toward him; Laplace siphoning off the electrical aura. "How in..." Gemini found himself at a loss for words as his shield vanished and Rogue struck again, this time the blade making contact and damaging the arm that held Sonia's prison, but still keeping a tight grip on it, despite the pain.

"What is my enemy's greatest strength becomes their greatest weakness. I drained your aura and converted it to raw energy and coursed it through my Destructix, then using it as an enhancer for my own use. That is the power of the Mu Metal."

"Grr...I don't know who you think you are...but I must admit that I'm impressed..." Gemini Genesis said.

"I could care less about your compliments."

"Too bad that was the only shot you had. Now I know what your little toy is capable of." he grinned as his arm began to heal, replacing the damaged bits of data that was lost until his arm looked brand-new, as if Rogue's attack hadn't made a scratch. "Defeating you two with the powers I've gained will be simple, and the best part is, I hold all the cards." he smirked as he held Sonia's orb to his chest and it began to meld into him, with half of it sticking out proudly on his chest. "Defeating you will be simple."

"I'd like to see you try!" Rogue dashed toward him and swung hard; the Destructix coming down right onto Gemini Genesis' shoulder as data rapidly was lost from the wound.

"Was that suppose to hurt?" he grinned.

"Grr...don't mock me!" Rogue cried in anger as he swung once more, this time damaging his other arm, but Gemini Genesis didn't even flinch.

H...how" Rogue exclaimed.

His response came from Sonia's blood-curling scream as she came to and blood slowly began to trickle down from her arm and shoulder, the source of the blood coming from almost the exact spot where Rogue had struck Gemini Genesis.

"Sonia!" Lyra cried out.

"I told you; I hold ALL the cards. It's simple. Any damage I take, she will receive instead, leaving me perfectly unharmed. Simply put: if you want to destroy me, you'll have to destroy her as well! She's a part of me now..." he grinned evilly.

"G...Geo..." Sonia groaned in pain as she opened her eyes slightly to look down at him.

"Gemini..." Mega Man seethed as he tried to keep his emotions in check.

"I didn't think it was possible, but you're more of a snake that Ophiuca was!" Mega barked

"I'll take that as a compliment." Gemini Genesis grinned.

"Then that's a small price to pay." Rogue said as he began to pour his power into the Destructix.

"Rogue, what are you doing!?" Mega Man said as he grabbed onto his arm. "We can't kill Sonia!"

"Back off." he retorted as he pushed Mega Man to the side. "He obviously isn't leaving us with a choice. He made it obviously clear; she's a part of him now. She's merely a shield, and to win, you have to break through any shield to ensure the victory is yours." he said, only to have Mega Man blindside him completely and ram his fist hard into Rogue's face; cracking his visor and destroying parts of it.

"I REFUSE to let you cast aside Sonia's life! There's always a way! Everyone matters! Haven't you ever known someone who was more important in your life than yourself!?"

"Shut up!" he glared as he rose again and struck Mega Man in the face; knocking him down to the floor and destroyed the left part of his visor. "You don't know ANYTHING!" He said as he watched his rival rise up. "You can't save everyone."

"Gah...well, I can try."

" _Geo..."_ Mega thought as he looked on.

"I'll admit, its fun watching you two go at it, but I'm getting real bored of doing nothing." Gemini Genesis said as he formed his large arms, but they only lasted a moment as they turned into two masses of energy before leaving Gemini Genesis' body as they turned back into his normal arms and the energy masses taking the forms of two more clones.

"Ugh...great. I REALLY don't like these odds..." Mega Man said.

"Well who said I like playing fair?!" Gemini Genesis proclaimed as he sent his clones into battle and began to float as he busted through the remains of the glass ceiling of the skylight.

"He's getting away!" Lyra said as Gemini Genesis left the citadel.

The clones raced toward Mega Man as they formed their ElecSwords and swung them down hard, only to meet with the steel of the Destructix.

"Rogue!"

"We'll finish this dispute later, so you better not die to him. Now go!" he turned his head a bit as their eyes met.

"I don't plan on dying. Not today." Mega Man said as he warped away.

"Now then..." Rogue said as he rubbed the spot of his face that Mega Man punched, then lunged out and swung his blade as it cut the two clones' ElecSwords in half. "Who's ready for round 2?"

* * *

Elsewhere within the park, the cloaked woman watch the events unfold before her. It was clear things were not going as they had been planned.

"He needs to be dealt with. This wasn't suppose to happen."

" **No..."** her master's voice spoke out to her. **"This can work to our advantage."**

"How is that?"

" **With any luck, this will cause them to be pushed to their limits, and if their lives are placed in jeopardy, then that may very well be the key to awaken the light within them. But even then, we still have much to do, and its not the appropriate time. Keep an eye on them. If neither light is awakened, we simply bide our time until it is right."**

"And Gemini?" she spoke.

" **If it comes down to it, ensure their safety. Then exterminate him."** his voice calmly stated.

"But what about HIM? Shouldn't we prevent him from getting involved" she asked.

" **You make a valid point..."** his voice spoke. **"Fine then...see to it he is dealt with, but do not kill him. You still have much to do before you can have your petty revenge. Understood?"** her master's voice finished before it faded away from her mind.

"Very well. I understand." she said and watched from afar as Mega Man began to catch up to Gemini Genesis.

* * *

"I've waited so long for this..." Gemini Genesis grinned as Mega Man warped in front of him. "Destroying you will satisfy me greatly...then once you're out of the picture, nothing will stop me!"

"I don't know what you have planned, but it ends here!" Mega Man seethed in anger as he stared his foe down.

"But if you try to end me...she will be the one to pay." he grinned as he placed his hand on Sonia's orb. "Kill me and she dies with me!"

"Sonia..."

"And with this in mind, I have the advantage! Lightning Fist!" Gemini Genesis raised his fist back and pumped it toward Mega Man, releasing a powerful burst of energy as it took on the form of a clenched fist and struck him in the chest.

"AAAHHH!" Mega Man cried out as it struck him full force as he coughed up some blood and his wounds from his earlier fights began to take its toll on his body.

"C'mon, Geo!" Mega exclaimed.

"Please Geo, Sonia's counting on you!" Lyra cried.

Mega Man opened his eyes once more at the mention of her name. He wasn't about to turn his back on Sonia now when she needed him the most. Using as much strength as he could while being as weak as he was, he regained his bearings and righted himself in the air once more.

"You just don't know when to die, do you?" Gemini Genesis muttered as he pointed his finger into the air. "Genesis Storm!" Without notice, the barrier that covered the park began to produce bolts of EM lightning as he concentrated them toward Mega Man.

"Battle Card: Holy Panel! Super Barrier!" Mega Man produced a sphere of energy around him as the attack hit, saving him from the brunt of the blow, but the residual power still managed to inflict more pain on him.

"Gah...ok, I felt that one..." Mega said from within as he gripped his claw around his arm.

"Omega, are you alright?" Lyra asked.

"Never felt better." he groaned.

"We don't have many options here...we're running out of time. We won't last much longer at this rate." Mega Man said as he glared up at Gemini Genesis.

"Things have changed, Mega Man, Omega-Xis...I am not as weak as I was before. I will make you pay for ruining everything. I was stringing Cepheus along like a puppet; made him think only I could be trusted. I had to bide my time until everything fell into place, ensuring Planet AM was eliminated so no one stood in my way. When the time was right, I would destroy Cepheus and become the FM King myself, and with Andromeda at my fingertips, Galaxies would have been mine! But then you, Omega-Xis...you just HAD to steal the Andromeda Key, threatening all of my plans! Luckily, with Cepheus being as paranoid as he was at the time, retrieving the key would be simple. I decided to make my move if I got it myself, or if one of the other FM-ians did; dispose of them. However, you defeated me, and I thought it all ended there. Luckily, Cepheus revived me and that gave me another chance."

"I don't get it...if that was your plan from the start, why didn't you take the key for yourself when you finally gave it back to Cepheus?"

"I couldn't..." he seethed. "I had no clue he would have resurrected the other FM-ians. I had to play along. As strong as I was, I was outnumbered four to one. And with Cepheus watching us, the time just wasn't right; I couldn't risk blowing my cover, but I plan to rectify that now! Genesis Thunder!" he yelled as five bolts of lightning attempted to strike Mega Man, but being as injured as he was, he barely avoided them.

"Mega Bust-...!" Mega Man had formed his buster and began to charge it, but hesitated when he remember Sonia's predicament. "No...I can't..."

"Too soft!" Gemini Genesis proclaimed as he warped down and struck Mega Man in the head, completely destroying his helmet in the process.

"Geo!" Mega and Lyra cried as Mega Man ended up flying into the side of the park's clock tower.

"This is too much fun!" Gemini Genesis cried in laughter as he looked on. "And it's all thanks to you, little puppet." he said and tapped Sonia's sphere

"Why you...!" Lyra warped out from the hunter and raced towards Gemini Genesis. "I won't let you harm Sonia anymore!" she charged at him, only to be trapped inside of an electrical sphere and shocked violently.

"The same applies to you, Lyra. You didn't give me as much trouble as Omega-Xis and his human, but you were still a thorn in my side. I don't want to play with you yet, so why don't you take a nap!" he said and flung Lyra right onto the roof of the clock tower, the impact knocking her out.

"Lyra!" Mega Man said as he managed to break out from the side of the clock tower and lunged toward Gemini Genesis, only for him to vanish before his eyes. "What the..."

"Behind you." came Gemini Genesis' sadistic voice as Mega Man turned around, only to have Gemini Genesis grab him by the neck as he struggled in his grip.

"Geo!" Mega growled as Gemini Genesis began to shock the both of them in his grip.

"For once I'm actually sad; sad that this has to end." Gemini Genesis said with a dark grin.

"Not...a chance..." Mega Man said as he fought against the electrical shocks and placed his hand on Gemini Genesis' arm. "Sonia...is counting on me...and I'll never give up on her!" he chocked out.

"You humans and your emotions...such a joke." Gemini Genesis grinned as he shocked Mega Man more.

"G...Geo..." Sonia softly spoke his name as she slowly tried to open her eyes.

"Now then..." Gemini Genesis said as he took his free hand and struck it into Mega Man's chest and began to pull it out, tearing Mega away from Geo, but still leaving him transformed. "So glad you could come out and play, Omega-Xis...tell you what, I'll kill you first and save your host for last." he said and threw Mega Man onto the rails of the roller coaster track.

"You can try..." Mega said as he raised his claw and struck the sphere holding Sonia, hurting both her and Gemini Genesis.

"AHHH!" Sonia cried out in pain.

"Why you...!" Gemini Genesis fumed as he threw Mega on the lower part of the tracks before placing his hand on the damaged sphere. "Grr...damn you, Omega-Xis!"

"Sorry, kid...I did what I could..." Mega groaned before he passed out.

"No...Mega..." Mega Man said weakly as he struggled to his knees, but looked up as Gemini Genesis landed in front of him as their eyes met.

"No more games...this end now!" Gemini Genesis cried out as his arm began to become enveloped in electricity as he raised it high to bring it down on Mega Man, but stopped as soon as he fully raised it, and his arm lost its charge.

"What's going on!? My body...it's frozen in place...!"

"Wha...?" Mega Man looked up at him.

"I won't...let you hurt him...!" A fully-aware Sonia proclaimed; small lines of blood running down her face and arms as the sphere holding her glowed red and soon fully enveloped Gemini Genesis.

"Sonia!"

"How!?" Gemini Genesis asked, very shocked at this.

"You said it yourself, lightning rod, I'm a part of you now..." she said as she looked down at Mega Man. "Geo...please...now's your chance; destroy him... I can't keep him like this for much longer..."

"Not a chance! Then you'll die too!"

"I know...but if dying means making sure you and everyone else is safe...then it's worth it..." she smiled down at him. "You've had to be burdened with so much...now it's my turn..."

"No...grrr...I won't let this happen!" Gemini Genesis groaned as he struggled to regain control of his body.

"Do it now, Geo...please..."

Mega Man just lowered his head as thoughts raced through his mind, his mind trying to decide what was best, but his feelings began to cloud his judgment. Finally, he lost it and just exploded; his emotions now in control.

"You idiot!"

"Geo..."

"You talk about bearing the burden yourself so I don't have to, but you're forcing one on me! I refuse to carry the guilt of killing one of my friends, even if it's for the greater good...I refuse to kill my first friend..." he gulped as he raised his eyes up to see hers. "I love you, Sonia, and I absolutely refuse to kill the one I love!"

"Geo..." Sonia muttered to herself as she absorbed his words into her mind. _"He...he loves me..."_ she thought as she a warm feeling of relief came over her despite the pain and blood loss, but that moment was all Gemini Genesis needed to take control of the situation.

"This...isn't HAPPENING!" Gemini Genesis said as he struggled to control his other arm and with all his strength, clenched it into a fist and struck himself in the stomach, hurting him and Sonia as the powerful blow was enough to make her pass out, allowing Gemini Genesis to regain control of his body.

"Sonia!" Mega Man lunged toward him, only to have his neck caught in Gemini Genesis' hand and thrown violently down into the ground below, knocking him out.

"Damn, that hurt! Grr...annoying human..." he said as he looked at Sonia's fallen form within the sphere before looking down at the large hole the impact of Mega Man's body made.

"Well...doubt he could've survived that...I know she wanted him alive, but like I care. I planned on killing all of them in the end..." he said as he averted his gaze toward Mega. "Now then...I have some unfinished business to take care of, then I'll finish with the remains."

* * *

"Vanishing Rogue Break!"

With that, the Gemini Clones began to break up until nothing was left of them, their data beyond capable of reforming into new bodies until slowly what was left faded away.

"Now that the small fry are out of the way, it's time to take out the source." Rogue said as he felt Gemini Genesis' enormous power fill the air, but also sensed it weakening somewhat.

"Looks like he found a way around that guy's little trick..." he said as he attempted to move before driving the blade of the Destructix into the floor as he tried to gather his strength. The clones hadn't been much of a challenge, but not being used to the Destructix's power for this long took a toll on Rogue. "Just another challenge to overcome..." he said as he collected himself. "Mega Man...you've met your match..." he said as he rose to his feet and pulled the blade out from the floor. "Now then...let's take care of business and put that guy's lights out."

"...zzzzztttttzzzzz..." Laplace began to say from within the blade.

"What is it now?" he asked.

Before he knew it, a blast from out of nowhere knocked Rogue all the way to the other side of the large room.

"Who's there!?" he struggled to his feet as the smoke cleared. He gazed on through until the smoke, but got no response.

"...zzzzzzzztttttzzzzz...!" Laplace said as more blasts tore through the smoke as Rogue dodge them, managing to use the Destructix to divert some of the blasts away.

"Show yourself!" Rogue demanded, but received no response once more. "Fine then, have it your way! Chaos Surge!" The Destructix glowed bright red as Rogue spun in a circle as the blade created a circular aura that spread out and heavily destroyed parts of the room.

"...zzzzzzzttttttzzzz..."

"Shut up! What am I suppose to do? It's not like I can see them." Rogue barked back at Laplace.

"Dark Hold!"

In an instant, Rogue found himself trapped inside a dark sphere, unable to move as he began to lose more of his strength, feeling his strength draining out of his body

"What the...hell is this?"

Soon the sphere became pitch dark inside, then without notice, Rogue felt something strike him hard in his abdomen as the sphere began to fade away; the Destructix dropping to the floor as it reverted back to Laplace, who was out cold, and Rogue's wave change canceling out as Solo fell to the floor as finally passed out from exhaustion and the powerful blow he was dealt.

Solo laid on the cold floor as the cloaked girl walked up to his body and removed her hood, freeing her hair as her violet eyes gazed upon Solo.

"Consider this a warning, I'd end this now...but this is all I can do. And I can't have you interfering in my master's plans." she said coldly.

She looked down and gazed at his face, but as he kept her eyes trained on him, her head began to throb as she groaned in pain before falling to her knees.

She cried out and moved both her hand to her head as the pain worsened.

"What's...happening to...me..."

The pain began to intensify as she struggled to pull herself up onto her feet as she opened a portal up and tried to walk toward it as she felt the throbbing continue.

Images began to flash through her head of a younger version of her staring out over the ocean with a white haired boy as the sun was setting, another as they ran to avoid falling rocks, then the last one as the boy held her hand as they dangled over the ocean as their surroundings began to fall apart.

"Ahhh...those memories...mean nothing...to me..." she groaned as the throbbing began to die down while she looked back at Solo.

"Next time...I'll end this..." she strained herself towards the portal as the pain slowly began to subside, but still lingered on within. "And if I die trying, I WILL take you with me..." she said and entered the portal as it closed behind her.

* * *

" _Sonia...I'm sorry..." Geo said as he found himself falling down into a void. It looked like this was the end of the line for him, as he fell down into death's cold embrace._

" _I gave it everything I had...but I guess it just wasn't good enough..." he said as he closed his eyes as darkness surrounded him, but as it almost engulfed him, a bright light within the darkness pierced through and lifted the shadows around him as his eyes opened once more, and before him stood a young man around his age; his back turned to Geo as light covered his body in a luminous aura. Despite the glow, Geo could only make out one thing: the figure had hair like him. Slowly, the being turned; Geo couldn't see his face as the light shone even brighter, the figure offering its hand to Geo._

" _Who...are you..."_

 _No response came._

 _Slowly, Geo moved his hand upward to the figure's, and as their hands met, Geo could make something else out too: a smile on the figure's face._

* * *

"Oh, I've waited so long for this...almost makes me want to savor it, but with all the hell you put me through, I really don't feel like torturing you." Gemini Genesis said as he landed before Mega and looked down on him.

"Any last words?" he knelt down and moved a hand to the side of his head. "I didn't think so."he gloated as he opened his hand up and faced his palm toward Mega.

"I would say it's been fun knowing you, Omega-Xis...but we both know I'd be lying." he smirked as an orb of electricity formed in his hand as he prepared to aim it at Mega, only for him to stop as a tower of light erupted from down below as he looked over at it.

"Damn, that's bright..." Gemini Genesis said as he shielded his eyes as a figure rose through the light as it began to die down, revealing Mega Man floating before him, a blue aura covering his whole body, while his normally brown eyes now glowed an equally elegant blue color.

"Still alive, eh? You're more stubborn than Omega-Xis. Do me a favor and wait your turn; I promise I'll deal with you in just a moment." he said as he focused his attention back onto Mega, but as he released his attack toward Mega, only for Mega Man to form his buster and fire toward Gemini Genesis' attack, knocking it away from his friend.

"What's the big idea!?" Gemini Genesis growled as Mega Man pointed his buster toward him. "Hey now...are you forgetting something?" he said as he pointed at Sonia's sphere. "You try and hurt me and she feels it." he grinned as he relied on his human shield to protect him.

Without notice, Mega Man warped in front of Gemini Genesis as his hand began to emit a bright light as he thrust it toward his chest and griped the sphere tightly as he began to pull it out from Gemini Genesis' body.

"Ahhhh! S...Stop!" he groaned in pain as Mega Man yelled out and excavated the sphere from him, following up by a buster shot to his foe's chest as it sent him flying down through the wooden pillars of the roller coaster track before crashing into the ground.

Mega Man descended toward the ledge of the clock tower as the sphere shattered and its escaping light deposited Sonia into Mega Man's arms; his aura enveloping her body and began to completely heal her wounds.

"Geo..." she spoke his name as she peacefully rested in his arms as sleep overtook her, mentally and physically drained from the hell she was put through.

Mega Man landed onto the ledge and set her down next to Lyra as a blast rode up into the air and struck the giant barrier as Gemini Genesis appeared across from them.

"Grrrr...you..damn you!" he lunged toward Mega Man, only for him to charge right back at him and thrust his fist into Gemini Genesis' chest where the sphere had been, and sent a powerful burst of energy surging through his body.

"AAAAHHHHHH! N...No...!" Gemini Genesis cried as he moved back and held his hand to his wound; his data beginning to disperse as it began to destroy him from the inside out.

Mega Man warped up to him once more as his hands began to glow and landed several strong jabs to Gemini Genesis' chest and abdomen, destroying even more of his body in the process, but Gemini Genesis found and opening in his attacks and used it to try and retreat.

It was meaningless.

As he dashed away, Mega Man warped right in front of him as his eyes stared right into Mega Man's. For the first time in his several existences, the FM-ian felt fear.

"No...please...don't..."

Pleading was futile, as Mega Man grabbed Gemini Genesis by the neck and hurled him up in the air; his buster glowing brightly as he aimed it at Gemini Genesis and yelled as he released a fully charged Mega Buster as it struck the front of the FM-ian's body, sending him toward the top of the barrier as it and the combined power of the buster tore through him relentlessly.

"THIS CAN'T...BE HAPPENING! NOT...AGAIN!" Gemini Genesis cried out as the core that sustained his revival shattered, and with it gone, his body gave way, resulting in his permanent deletion. With his energy gone, the barrier died down as the night sky enveloped the war-torn park once more.

Mega Man looked up into the sky as his eyes returned to normal and the aura faded as he passed out and fell down onto the tracks of the roller coaster as his wave change canceled out.

* * *

The morning sun shone down on the park as its rays seeped through the broken window of the citadel as Solo slowly woke up; his body aching all over as he struggled to his feet.

"What happened...to me...? Everything's such a blur..." he groaned as he looked over and saw Laplace laying next to him. "Hey...wake up..." he said as he nudged him.

"...zzzzttttzzzz..."

"You remember what happened?"

All he got was a tired response from him.

"Why do I even bother..." he said as he placed his hand on his head. "All I remember is darkness...then that's it..."

Suddenly he remembered destroying the Gemini Clones, then Mega Man crossed his mind.

Solo looked up at the morning sky from the broken skylight as he rose up and looked down at Laplace. "Get in." he said as he held his hunter out and absorbed Laplace into it as he jumped through the opening, fighting back the pain in his body as he surveyed the damage.

"Looks like he managed to pull through." he said as he looked around and saw Geo and Mega laying atop the tracks; Sonia and Lyra laying on the ledge of the park's clock tower. Solo kept his eyes trained on Sonia as he looked down at her. "I guess he found a way to spare you from death..." he said as he took out his Hunter VG.

"Transcode 002: Rogue!" EM waves enveloped his body as he became Rogue before looking down at them. "Can't believe I'm doing THIS again..." he said with a small bit of disgust in his voice.

* * *

"What a mess..." Jack said as he looked around at the destruction.

"Have we found them yet?" Ace asked as he walked through the park entrance.

"I was wondering when you'd get here, bro" he replied. "And no, nothing..." Jack said with a grimaced look on his face.

"And we can't track their Hunter VG signals, either. That giant barrier's magnetic field is still lingering in the area." Ace said as he watched some of the Satella officers make their way all around to try and find Geo and the others, while checking to make sure the building structures were stable.

"Ace, I'm picking up something approaching us..." Acid said from within his hunter.

"Like I said, Acid, it's probably just the area around us making your scanner going out of whack." Ace retorted it.

"Hey." came a voice from behind them; Ace and Jack turning around to see Rogue warp right behind them, carrying Geo and Sonia under both his arms.

"Rogue!" Jack exclaimed as he turned around and looked at the Murian.

"You were saying, sir?" Acid said.

"Geo! Sonia!" Ace said as he moved over to them as Rogue set them down on the ground. "Are they okay?"

"Well they're alive, aren't they?" Rogue quipped as he looked over at Jack. "Here." he said and tossed him Geo and Sonia's hunters; Mega and Lyra recuperating inside the devices.

"What happened out here?" Ace looked up at him as Rogue began to turn away.

"I haven't a clue...all I can remember was dealing with some grunts the one responsible for all this made to try and slow us down. After that, everything's a blur to me. When I woke, I found them like this."

"That so..." Ace said as Jack motioned for some of the officers to take Geo and Sonia back to WAZA to evaluate them and make sure they were okay.

" _But WHY can't I remember what happened? Something just...isn't sitting right with me..."_ Rogue thought as he began to walk away.

"Rogue, wait!" Ace said as he got up and walked near him.

"I'm out of here. I got what I wanted." he said as he cocked his head a bit and looked back. "Don't tell them I brought them to you; the last thing I need from HIM is thanking me." Rogue said as he warped away.

"He has such a way with words..." Jack said sarcastically.

"Well whatever happened...I hope they can fill us in once they're able to tell us." Ace said as he looked over at the resting Geo and Sonia as they were being checked on before being prepared to head to WAZA.

"Let's go home. We've done all we can do here."

* * *

Meanwhile, in a dark sub-dimension within the Bermuda Maze...

The cloaked girl struggled as she walked out of the portal as she made her way through the empty, vast space.

"Why did those memories come back...?" she groaned and held her head. Despite the pain she felt being mostly gone, it still lingered in her head. "I don't want to remember...any of it. He's nothing to me...!" she struggled.

" **Yes...he betrayed you; left you for dead while he survived...until I saved you. Those memories are just that: a painful reminder of his betrayal."** the dark voice echoed out.

"He'll...pay..." she said as the darkness began to overtake her and cover her in a dark aura, levitating her as her body began to fade away into the vast emptiness of the shadows.

" **We've still much to do; but it is not yet time. The moment I seek is far off, but fast approaching. We must bide our time until then for my return to come. Immerse yourself in the my darkness, let it be one with you; to bend to your will." the dark voice calmly said. "Then you will get your desire for revenge..."**

"Solo..." she muttered as she succumbed to her dark sleep and faded away, unaware that she was only a smaller pawn in the grand scheme.

* * *

A few days later...

"Well, look who finally woke up." came Mega's voice as Geo opened his eyes to see Mega, his parent and Sonia with Lyra there beside him.

"Where am I..." Geo asked as he cleared his eyes from sleep.

"Duh, your room, where else?" Mega quipped up.

"What's going on here..." he asked as he moved up in his bed to sit upright.

"Easy there, son. You don't want to move-" Kelvin said as Geo felt a pain in his side.

"Oww!" he said as he lifted up his shirt to see his lower torso in bandages.

"Be grateful it's only a broken rib, young man..." Hope scolded him, but then her motherly instincts took over as she moved up and hugged him. "Don't you EVER scare me like that again!"

"Honey..." Kelvin sighed as he looked at his wife.

"Oww...Mom...that stings..." he winced in pain. "Oh...Sonia!" she finally came into Geo's mind as he looked over to see her smiling.

"About time you woke up." she said.

"How long...was I out?"

"Almost two days. You were in pretty rough shape." Mega said.

"I'm just glad you're OK...that's all I care about..." Sonia said.

Geo looked over at her as his mind raced like a lab rat, and suddenly remembered the last conscious moment he had before waking up in his current state.

"I agree...but I swear Geo, you can be just as reckless as your father was at your age." Hope sighed and folded her hands.

"Oh, come on, I wasn't that reckless, was I?" Kelvin whined a bit at his wife's comment.

"Anyway...I'm sure you're feeling hungry after having not eaten for close to two days...might as well get started on dinner." Hope said as she got up and headed downstairs.

"What exactly happened?" Geo asked his dad, dumbfounded.

"I'll tell you another time." Kelvin said as he scratched the back of his head and chuckled a bit at the thought. "Guess I better go and try to get on your mom's good side." he grinned as he got up and headed downstairs as well.

"Sometimes they can be a bit too much...Oh, how are you doing, Mega? I know you kinda got thrown through the ringer a bit." Geo asked.

"Meh, could be better."

"As much as I hate saying this; with how I'm feeling, I have to agree with him." Lyra reluctantly said.

"That reminds me...what happened to you, Sonia? Last I remembered, you got pretty banged up, but there's not a scratch on you..." Geo asked as he looked over at her.

"I'm not sure exactly...When I came to, I was at WAZA...despite the pain I felt in those spots, I don't have a single scratch on me, but I remember every single bit of the searing pain I felt from the whole thing..." she said as she looked down.

"But...what happened to Gemini? The last thing I remember was being thrown down right into the ground..."

"I'm not sure...Jack said Solo found us, and that we were all passed out...and Solo couldn't have fought Gemini; he was passed out too...

"I wonder if those clones he fought really gave him that much of an issue..." Geo pondered upon hearing this.

"But Ace did say he was able to find out that Gemini's wave signature had completely vanished, so it's probably safe to assume that Sparky is gone for good." Mega added. "Good riddance, that's what I say. Now if you don't mind, I'm itching for a fight; I need to shake some of this pain off. Be back later." he said as he warped away.

"Is fighting all he ever cares about? Honestly, Geo, I don't know HOW you can put up with him..."

"You kinda get used to it, I suppose." he grinned.

Lyra could only sigh.

"I better keep an eye on him, then; if he pushes himself too hard out there, he's liable to hurt himself even more. Such a hard head..." she muttered as she left the room to follow after Mega.

Sonia could only giggle as her friend left, leaving her and Geo alone.

With the two Wizards gone, silence soon fell in the room as the two of them remained quiet; both avoiding eye contact with one another. It was a very awkward moment for them.

"Sonia, listen, I..."

"No, Geo...I'm sorry for putting you in that situation. I...I wasn't thinking rationally...all I wanted was to stop seeing you get hurt, you've always protected me, and I wanted to protect you, but I didn't realize what I was putting you through...It's just..." she said as she began to silently cry.

"I know...with the position we were in, you were only focused on making sure Gemini couldn't hurt me, or anyone else for that matter. That's the same thing I would have done if it were the other way around." Geo said as he looked over at her and moved his hand to place it atop hers as she laid them in her lap.

Sonia jumped at this as she looked over.

"One thing I've learned being with Mega...being in the heat of battle can affect your thinking and make you think of things you normally wouldn't do..." he said as he grabbed her hand in his and motioned for her to sit on his bed as she rose up and sat down in front of him as her tear-filled eyes looked into his. "It can make you say things you normally wouldn't say, too."

"G...Geo..." she cried as he moved his free hand up to wipe away her tears.

"What I said...back at that moment, I meant every word of it. You were my first friend, my first brother, but these past couple of years have changed that...and I see you in a different light now...I've struggled with these feelings ever since that day on the pier, being scared of what the repercussions would be, but I know now I can't feel better unless I act on my emotions and deal with what comes from it...Every word I said back there was true, Sonia...I'm in love with you." he said as he gripped her hand.

Sonia was closely on the verge of breaking down completely. "I've struggled with the same thoughts; always being scared of what my feelings would do to our friendship, I didn't want to lose that; I didn't want to lose you..." she said and placed a trembling hand to his face. "I love you, Geo, and I never want to lose you...you mean so much to me..." she said as tears began to break out down her face again. "I never want to feel that fear again..."

"You won't..." he said as he cupped her face in his hand and inched closer to her face as they both closed their eyes, their lips connecting as they shared a deep kiss; both of them feeling the love and emotion the other gave into it before tenderly parting to look into each others' eyes as they rested their foreheads against the others.

"As long as we have each other...we'll never have to face anything alone again." he said as he wiped away the rest of the tears from her face. "From now on...we're in this together." he smiled at her as he held her hand tightly in his.

"Just shut up and kiss me again..." she lightly chuckled and blushed a bit as she stared lovingly into his eyes.

Geo happily obliged.


	5. Ch5 Prologue, Part 5

Hey everyone, BassDS here with the next re-upload on our list. Sorry it took a few days to throw this one up on here; work's been a bit draining from boredom the past few days...and recording for my first LP has been a bit bumpy.

Don't you just hate it when it seems like the game you enjoy playing over and over suddenly becomes self-aware and does everything in its sentient programming to screw you over from 100%ing it? Yeah, that's what's been happening.

Anyway, we've actually got bit of a small change here from the original upload; originally, the next three chapters after Prologue was the 2nd story arc, Calm Before The Storm. After thinking it over, apart from one major advancement to the plot, in hindsight, it really shouldn't have been it's own arc. So to mitigate that, I've taken the first two chapters of the original arc and just decided to straight up use Super Polymerization and edited them together into one chapter, and have decided to just integrate this AND the next chapter as part of Prologue, which really, that's what it should have been from the start. But what do you expect; I think I was trying to cut some corners at the time back then.

As for the change concerning the next chapter, for those that managed to read it when it uploaded and bumped the original upload to an M Rating...we'll go over that next time. Until then, I hope you all enjoy the chapter as we get closer to picking up where we originally left off.

* * *

Shooting Star Lovers

Ch.5 Prologue, Part 5 – Young Summer Love

* * *

"I wish she'd hurry up with my X-rays..." Geo groaned as he sat atop a table in WAZA's medical wing.

"Just be thankful it was only a broken rib and not worse." Sonia said as she eyed him.

"Too bad you humans don't heal like us EM beings." Mega laughed at bit at his friend's situation.

"Really, Mega; not helping." Geo sighed.

Seven weeks had passed and it was already halfway through July. Geo was finally ready to get the clear from Dr. Goodall on the broken rib he sustained during his fight with Gemini. It had been troublesome; he REALLY hated having it slow him down from doing things he usually did. Prom had been definitely out of the question, but he made sure his injury didn't keep him from graduation.

"Well, hope I didn't keep you too long." came Dr. Goodall's voice as the small woman entered the room.

"So how's does it look, doc?; am I clear?." Geo asked as he looked down at her.

"Well, it appears the rib has mended well..." she said as she pulled up a screen on her hunter as it displayed an X-ray of his upper body. "I'd say you're in the green, but I WOULD recommend taking it easy at least a few more weeks. Wouldn't want to do anything to re-injure yourself.

"You ain't got to tell me twice." he sighed with relief. "Going through that pain again is the LAST thing I want to experience." he said as he got off the table.

"Well, all that matters to me is that you're in one piece." Sonia said as she grabbed hold of his arm and kissed his cheek.

"Sonia, not in front of Doc..." he whispered in embarrassment. He still wasn't used to displaying these emotions in public.

"Oh please, it's not like she's your mother." she taunted playfully.

"Ah yes...before I forget..." Dr. Goodall spoke up as she turned to the two of them. "Ace wanted the both of you to stop by before you leave. He wouldn't say anything else."

"Yeah...when I hear the words "anything else" in the same sentence coming from him, I automatically get suspicious." Mega said. "Last time I heard those words, we had to deal with that weirdo ClockMan..."

"Don't remind me." Sonia and Lyra both said as they shuddered at the thought of that whole incident all those years back.

"They're on the R&D floor; Room B." Dr. Goodall said.

"Got it." Geo replied, only for Sonia to grab hold of his arm, almost clinging to him.

"Well let's hurry. I don't know about you, but I want to get out and enjoy the day while we can. I got a few places I'd like to go." she replied as she clung to Geo's arm as they walked toward the elevator.

"You know, you're really clingy today..."

"Got a problem with it, lover boy?"

Goodall just smiled as she watched them leave the room. "Ah, young love...the true fountain of youth. It never gets old...can't say the same for me, though." she laughed a bit and made her way out of the room.

* * *

"What took you? Did you turn the elevator into your own personal kissing room?" Jack quipped as Geo and Sonia made their way into the room.

"What? N...no...it just took the doc a while to get to the room..." Geo said as he lightly blushed at what Jack was insinuating.

" _Geez...I don't know how much more of this I can take..."_ Geo thought to himself.

"Anyway, I'm glad you guys showed up. Kinda need your help with something." Ace said as he popped up behind the two.

"Last time that happened, we had to timeslip to 200X and clean up your little mess." Mega complained.

"I said I was sorry..." Ace frowned as he put his index fingers together before grabbing a Mega Snack from his jacket pocket and taking a bite. "I admit, things didn't go as planned, but I did what I could."

"Don't mind Omega-Xis, Ace, you know what kind of annoyance he is." Acid said.

"You wanna start something, Acidna?"

"Easy, Mega, calm down...it WAS years ago anyway, and it all turned out good in the end." Geo said, trying to tame his partner.

"Anyway..." Ace said as he tossed the last bit of the Mega Snack into his mouth. "Onto why I called you up here. I was wanting you guys to test something out for me." he said as he moved over to the control panel of the computer and entered a code onto the dash as a glass case next to the monitor opened up.

"What...are they?" Sonia asked as she saw the two objects that laid on the small platform.

'I give you the latest in EM Technology: the VG Brace." he said as he picked them up and held them in his hands. "The successor to the Hunter VG."

In his hands were two watch-like devices, one was blue with a glowing green circle around it, a small silver ring surrounded the inner green piece of the device; the other being pink with a similar red circle and inner piece, and expandable metal bands were attached to it.

"I even designed them with you two in mind, so I hope you like the small customizations." he said as he handed them over.

"They look pretty cool." Geo said as he slid his over his wrist and the band tightened around to secure itself. "Kinda reminds me of my old Transer."

"I love it; it's simple, and compact." Sonia said as she slid hers on and it did the same.

"You can access the interface by waving your hand over the sensor." Ace added as he waved his hand over Geo's, and the glowing interface screen appeared.

"I gotta admit, this thing is pretty nice." Geo said as he moved his hand down to his pocket and pulled his Hunter VG out. "So what do we do with these?" he asked as Sonia also pulled hers out.

"Well first things first; use the Brace's wireless system to transfer all the data from your hunters over into it. That way you still have access to your Battle Card data; although you might need to update the Wizard Program to make sure Mega and Lyra's Wizard functions work properly."

"I'll do that before I go to bed tonight." Geo said as he slid it back into his pocket."Better than meticulously going back and forth to watch the loading screen."

"I dunno...I got a bad feeling about this..." Mega said.

"Oh will you stop complaining?" Lyra barked. "You're driving me insane..."

"The plan is to have the VG Brace out to the public within the next month, so I was hoping you wouldn't mind beta-testing it for me." Ace said.

"Not at all. We don't mind." Sonia replied.

"So Geo, you all cleared?" Ace questioned.

"Yeah, I checked out OK, but Doc said to at least take it easy for another week."

"Well, she DOES tend to know what's best..." he said and uttered a small laugh.

"Oh, you mean like how when we FINALLY reconstructed you and DESPITE being in several casts and after she told you so many times you have several broken bones, you still did your best to sneak out of sight and do god knows whatever when you should have been resting? Way to contradict what you say." Tia said overhearing her husband as she held Alexis in her arms and lightly glared at him.

"Hey, Jack, a little help here?" Ace motioned as he pleaded with him.

"Yeah...I've seen that look; I'm staying out of this one." Jack said as he placed a set of headphones on his ears and turn away, letting his brother-in-law fend for himself.

"Well...uh...can you blame me? I was bored" Ace tried to justify himself as he turned to face his wife.

"I swear, Arthur...you're just like a little child sometimes..." Tia said as she set Alexis down onto the floor as the six year old watched on at her parents; she was already accustomed to how her parents were when they had their little spats about how her father acted.

"Hey, c'mon Tia...you know I hate being called by that."

"I swear, sometimes I wonder how I even fell for you...but..." she sighed. "I guess your childish nature is what makes you you, I suppose." Tia added as she massaged the bridge of her nose. "The headaches you give me, I could do without."

" _Seeing them bicker like that, then just forgoing everything...I wonder if we'll be like one day."_ Sonia thought as she lightly blushed at bit at the idea of being married to Geo.

"Hey, you think you're ready to go?" came Geo's voice as it broke Sonia out of her train of thought.

"Huh...wha...oh yeah, I'm all set." she said as she attempted to hide the tint of blush on her face.

"Aww...can't you stay longer?" Alexis whined as she turned to look at the two of them.

"I'm sorry, sweetie; we've got a few things to do today. You know I'd stay if I could." Sonia said as she knelled down to the little girl's height and ran her hand in her hair.

"Okay..." she said with a bit of sadness, before regaining her child-like composure. "But you gotta promise we'll go wherever I want next time." she finished as she extended her pinky.

"I promise." Sonia replied and entwined her pinky finger with Alexis'.

"Just know, I'm gonna make a BIG list!" she said as she set out to grab her crayons and paper from her room. She was bent on getting a head start on that list.

"Always putting people on the spot like that...what am I going to do with her?" Tia said as she rubbed her forehead as her daughter left the room. "I guess that's something else she gets from you."

"Well, you ready to go then?" Sonia asked as she turned toward Geo.

Geo nodded as he turned back to Ace. "Guess we'll be seeing you around."

"Just make sure to contact me if the Braces give you any problems. I put a lot of work into those things, and I want to make sure everything is perfect before we go public with them." Ace replied as they left.

"Sometimes..." Tia sighed as she watched the young couple leave. "I wish our lives could have been like theirs."

"Hey, we made it this far, didn't we? And look at us now." he reassured her as he slid her hand into his.

"Yeah, and now we have a little girl whose just as reckless as her father and just as hard to keep under control. She takes more and more after you so much...to be honest, knowing how you were when we were their age, I am really not looking forward to her teen years if she inherited your rebellious streak." she replied as she eyed him.

"Hey, it takes two to tango." Ace quipped smugly, only to be met with a light slap to the back of the head. "Oww..."

* * *

"So hey..."

"Hmm?" Sonia turned to look at Geo as the Wave Liner made its way back toward Echo Ridge.

"We could have stayed a bit longer. I didn't really have anything planned out for today. All that I needed to do was get checked out by Doc and get the all-clear from her." he spoke softly, only to be slightly caught off-guard as Sonia's hand rested atop his.

"I know, but you've been bonded to your bed ever since you got hurt...and to be honest, as much as I enjoyed going to Stardust Speedway with you, despite how that all turned out, I was actually hoping we could spend the day together...and you know, have our first actual date..." she replied as she blushed slightly. "Well...as a couple, I mean."

Geo moved his hand so the back of it rested on the seat so his fingers could intertwine with her.

"Well, I guess that IS mostly my fault for getting put out of commission like I was."

"Only because you fought to save me...I can't help but feel guilty that you were mainly hurt because of me, but then I think back to all the times you've thrown caution to the wind just for my sake. The first time we met; the whole mess with Vega...you even risked time itself when you went after ClockMan..."

"Well...you've helped me in more ways than one. I did all those things for our friendship..." Geo said as he looked down at their hands. "But things are different now...you're not my friend; you're the one I love, Sonia. And I'd do anything to make sure you're safe...that's how much you really mean to me." he said as he closed his eyes and looked down at the floor, only for them to open again as Sonia's hand touched his cheek and the side of his face as she kissed him gently, enjoying the feel of his lips against hers as she broke away to face his brown eyes.

"I know...you're not my friend anymore either; you're the shining light in my life, Geo Stelar...if it weren't for you, who knows what my life would be like now, but I know without a doubt this was for the best; for the both of us."

Atop the luggage rack, Mega and Lyra looked down at the young lovers spilling their hearts out.

" _Oh, how lovely..."_ Lyra thought as she smiled happily.

"Hey, you DO KNOW we can hear you, right?" Mega said.

Geo and Sonia's faces lit up as fast as Christmas lights; a bright-red flush of embarrassment covering their faces.

"Mega! Invasion of privacy much?" Geo exclaimed as he looked up at his partner.

"This coming from the kid who went Transer-hopping all those years ago." he retorted.

"Ugh, I swear he's impossible sometimes..." Geo muttered as he place his hand over his face.

Sonia just said nothing as she looked away embarrassed. She had completely forgotten the two Wizards accompanying them.

" _Ugh...I think I'm about to be sick to my stomach...I don't know how much more of this I can take."_ Mega thought to himself as he turned on his back and closed his eyes.

"Two words, one hyphen:" Lyra said as she grabbed onto Mega's arm with her small hands and threw him up through the ceiling. "Self-control!" she huffed and followed suit; intending on giving him a long overdue course in manners.

Geo lightly scratched the back of his head as he turned back to look at Sonia. "So...umm..." he started to say, hoping to get back to the subject at hand before their little interruption. He looked up at the destination chart. "What do you say we skip Echo Ridge and jump on over to Wilshire Hills? It's been a while since we last went there."

Sonia smiled as she looked at him lovingly. "Bet you 500 zenny I can still scarf down a sundae faster than you." she spoke before a devious grin sprouted on her face.

* * *

Later on that night:

"Oh, I just can't believe you! You make me so...grrrr!" Lyra yelled as she whacked Mega on top of his head.

"Owww! I say I was sorry, okay?" Mega growled as he rubbed his head to ease the pain.

"Have some more courtesy toward others and don't eavesdrop, then." she groaned as she turned to look down at everyone in the plaza from the top of IFL Tower. "Honestly, what is it that I see in you..."

"You say something?"

Lyra suddenly realized what she just uttered and was quick to react. "I...I say I don't know what it is that makes you so obnoxious..." _"PLEASE buy that excuse...please..."_

"Eh, whatever." he replied and laid down. "Just wake me when they get ready to leave. I'm tired and I really don't feel like arguing."

" _Phew...that was a close call..."_ Lyra thought as she was finally able to calm herself. She stared down at the crowds as her eyes honed in on Geo and Sonia as they sat at the cafe stand.

"You...you beat me..." Sonia looked on at the empty glass bowl in front of Geo as she dropped her spoon into her bowl, which still contained a few mounds of ice cream and part of a banana.

"Big difference since last time; back then, my dad wasn't around." he say as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Now that he is, we've kinda gotten into the habit of betting zenny to see which one of us can eat the most of the dessert my mom cooks."

"Well, guess I'm done." she said in defeat and pushed the bowl to the side. "I know we bet zenny, but I hope this compensates for it." she said and lightly pecked him on the lips.

"No argument here." he replied and returned the favor to her lips, tasting the mix of ice cream and fruit lingering on them.

"So how about we browse around in the shopping district for a bit?" she asked as she got up.

"Fine with me. I'm okay with a little window shopping." he replied as Sonia grabbed his hand in hers as she dragged him along.

"Well let's go then!"

* * *

In the Shopping District:

"Hmm...what do you think?" Sonia asked as she held a pink and white shirt with glitter embedded into the fabric to her chest.

"Well, if you really want my opinion, throw it on and let's see." Geo replied as he slid his hand into his pockets.

"Oh, wait." she exclaimed as she moved over to another rack to her side as she pulled out a pair of red shorts. "I want to see how well this goes with it." she said as she walked into the changing room.

"Heh...I get the feeling she's going to be attached to those..." he said and pulled his hunter out and connected it to the store's system as he paid for the clothes.

A few minutes had passed until Sonia emerged from the changing room wearing the outfit she selected.

"Well, what do you think?" she asked as she posed for him to show it off.

"Well, they compliment you, that's for sure. You might as well keep them on; they're already paid for."

"You didn't have to...I could have easily bought them myself if I liked them."

"Well, do you like them?" he asked her.

"Of course I do." she retorted.

"Then don't worry about it." he said as he took her hand.

"You're too nice to me, you know that?" she said as she placed her other pair of clothes in a bag.

"Is that a bad thing?" he joked.

"Hehe...not at all." she said and held onto his arm as they walked out of the store.

An hour or so passed as the moon rose above the city buildings as the crowds began to grow smaller and the area grew quieter.

"Think we should start heading home?" he looked down and asked Sonia.

"Let's just stay a little bit longer; soak it all in a bit more." she said as they walked down near the fountain that was put in a couple months ago.

"Hey, I'm going to go grab us some drinks before we get on the Wave Liner. Mind waiting here for a few?" Geo asked.

"I don't mind. Hurry back though; we don't want to miss the liner." she smiled at him as she undid her grip on his arm.

Geo headed down the nearby stairs as he came to a soda machine that he had seen earlier. He ran his hunter over the sensor to pay for the drinks as he made his selection; the beverage pouring into two large cups before the machine dropped the lids onto the top.

"Alright, time to head home." he said as he made his way back to the stairs, only to be distracted by a small light on his left. He turned to see a small stand filled with all sorts of bracelets and necklaces. He could see the moon's light reflecting off of a bright surface as he moved closer to the stand. Hanging from one of the hooks was a heart-shaped pendant; the pink heart laid atop a metal base as a single string connected it to a small metal bead that held the neck loop.

"Something catch your eye, young man?" Geo snapped out of his gaze as he turned to see the old woman that ran the stand as she was preparing to pack everything up for the night.

"Yeah...umm...how much is that pendant that's hanging there, ma'am?" he asked as he pointed toward it.

"Ahh...that one..." she said and looked at it. "That was the last thing my husband crafted before he passed on. He enjoyed creating necklaces and bracelets with everything he could get his hands on. He had quite a gift."

"Well in that case, I don't think I could take it..." he said. "I mean..."

"Oh nonsense...something just tells me it'll be in good hands." she interrupted him as he pulled it off the hook. "You can have it, dear." she said as she held it out to him as he placed one of the sodas in the crook of his arm.

"Are you sure?" he asked as he gripped the necklace tightly.

"I'm positive. It's yours." she smiled happily.

"Thank you, ma'am. I'll make sure it's treasured." Geo replied.

"I know it will be." she smiled as she walked away with the small basket of trinkets.

Geo held the pendant up as he looked at it; the smooth surface shining in the moon's radiance before placing it in his pocket as he headed back to the fountain.

* * *

Later on, back in Echo Ridge:

"Today was wonderful..." Sonia said softly as they made their way down the sidewalk toward her apartment.

"I'm glad I could make it wonderful for you." he said as his fingers rested in hers.

Soon they came up to her apartment as they hugged tightly before taking the other into a light kiss, letting their lips dance with one another.

Sonia pulled back as she looked at him lovingly. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow."

"Wait, before you go, I have something. Close your eyes."

"Hmm?" Sonia wondered as she did as he asked, then feeling something touch her neck as she opened her eyes to see Geo, then looked down as the heart pendant rested against her chest. "Geo..." she muttered as she clasped it in her hand.

"Do you like it?"

"It looks lovely...but where did you..." she started to say.

"Let's just say I made a promise to somebody." he said as he took her tender lips once more before breaking it up, knowing it was time to part for now.

"I love you, Geo...thank you for today..."

"I love you too...and you're welcome, Sonia." he said as he gazed into her eyes and she pulled him into a loving embrace.

* * *

"Man...am I tired..." Geo said as he shut the door to his room and looked to find Mega sleeping soundly within his hunter as he made his way up the stairs and to his bed.

"Oh, the VG Brace..." Geo said as he pulled the device out of his pocket and started it up. The loading screen appeared and soon brought him to the user interface. "Let's see...data and Wizard transfer..." he said as he found the options he needed and completed the settings as he set the brace and his hunter down on the nightstand.

"Now to get some sleep..." he groaned as he laid on his bed, too tired to even slip under the covers.

The data transfer continued on without an issue until the green centerpiece began to flash bright red.

* * *

"Geo! Geo! Wake up! We've got a serious problem on our hands! Get up now, damn it!"

"Huh...wha..." Geo said as he woke up to block the sun's light from shining in his eyes through the skylight as he rose up from his bed.

"Ugh...what is it, Mega? It's too early...for..." he said as he looked to where Mega would normally be, but found a humanoid body floating in front of him.

"You can sleep when we find out just what the hell happened to me!"

"M...Mega!? What happened to..." Geo said as he rubbed his eyes more, thinking he was dreaming, only to see a light-blue human-like body with glowing spiky green hair and red eyes staring at him.

"How the hell should I know? I just woke up like this." he replied as he looked over himself. "I'm not liking this one bit..." he groaned before running his hands in his hair. "Oh great, I feel like someone just gave me a bad haircut."

"Just calm down, will you? We'll figure this out..."

"Easy for you to say, you try having your body just change on you out of the blue and you tell me how it feels." Mega retorted back. "This sucks..."

"Oh boy..." Geo sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He really wasn't expecting to have to deal with this to start the day out.

"Geo, are you up yet?" came his mother's voice on the other side of his room's door.

"Yeah, Mom, just woke up." he replied back. "Not like I had a choice...I was wanting to sleep in some more..." he murmured.

"Well, you better hurry up; Sonia's down here waiting for you." she replied. "I told her you was probably still asleep, but she said it was urgent."

"OK, mom, tell her I'll be right down." he replied as he slide out of bed and grabbed his clothes from the dresser. "I wonder what Sonia wants...I'm surprised she didn't call before she came over; she usually does."

"Can we make this fast, then? I want my body back, I can't take it; I feel like I'm stuck in one of those suits humans wear at parties, and it's a tight fit."

"We don't even know what's wrong with you, yet. We'll probably head over to WAZA's so they can run a few tests on you."

"Then let's not take too long, then. This is killing me."

Geo could only sigh.

* * *

Geo made his way down the stairs to see Sonia and his mom sitting on the couch as he looked over at her.

"Morning, cutie." Sonia said as she got off the couch and ran to wrap her arms around him and pecked his cheek gently.

"Not in front of Mom, Sonia..." Geo blushed as he tensed up a bit. He didn't mind being affectionate with her when they were alone, but in front of anyone else, especially his mom, was overall embarrassing.

"Ah, young love...seeing you two reminds me so much of when your father and I dated." Hope said as she took a sip of her small cup of coffee.

"Where is Dad, anyway?" Geo asked as he looked around.

"It was his turn to do the grocery shopping this week, so I could stay at home and relax, well, apart from doing a little cleaning to spruce things up."

"You never give him a break, do you?" Geo replied with a chuckle.

"Nope." Hope smiled as she sat her cup down. Well, time to get some laundry done. Sonia, will you be joining us for dinner tonight?"

"I'd be glad to." she replied happily.

"So, what did you need to talk to me about?" Geo asked as he looked at her.

"Well umm...you might want to see this for yourself." Sonia replied as she headed to the door and walked out of the house, with Geo following her.

"I'll be back later, Mom!" Geo replied as the door closed behind them.

Hope sighed as a sad smile grew on her face. "My little boy is growing up on me..." she said softly as her mind trailed back to the simpler days.

* * *

"So how do I look?" Lyra asked as she placed her hands behind her head. Her humanoid body glowed pink as her hair emitted a red and light-pink glow, a long portion of her hair covered one of her eyes, leaving the other pure green eye visible; a part of her long hair draped over her chest as the rest remained behind her head.

"Now is not the time to admire yourself. We need to figure out how to get back to our regular bodies." grumbled Mega.

"You're not the boss of me." she said as she turned her head the other way and crossed her arms. "I quite like how I look. It really brings out the woman in me."

"Speak for yourself."

"I just did, Mutt...Oh, well..." she replied as she grabbed a lock of Mega's wave hair before cupping his face in her hands. "Guess I can't really call you a mutt anymore." she said disappointingly.

"This is pretty strange; happening out of the blue like this." Sonia pondered on the thought.

"I wonder..." Geo muttered as he tried to organize his thoughts.

"What is it? Do you think you know what caused this?" Sonia asked him.

"I have an idea..." Geo said as he looked at his VG Ring. "Maybe it was something in the Wizard firmware. We should probably head over to WAZA. Just to be safe, we probably shouldn't try to Wave Change. Who knows what could happen."

"I knew that hunk of junk would be nothing but trouble..." Mega grumbled more, annoyed at his current predicament.

"So I guess that means we're hopping on the Wave Liner, huh? I call the window seat!" Sonia smiled as she grabbed Geo's arm. "Let's get going before we miss the next one."

"You really don't like waiting around, do you?" Geo asked her.

"Nope." she replied as she playfully stuck her tongue out.

* * *

"Grrrraagghh!"

Solo swung Destructix wildly towards several Musashi viruses surrounding him, destroying them without much effort. He has been doing so for several hours now, choosing to fight in his base form rather than Wave Changing. He wanted more of a challenge. Despite fighting them as he was, it wasn't all that much of a challenge now in his eyes.

"Come on, is that all you got?" he questioned toward the viruses, getting no response from them as more materialized in the area and charged right for him.

Solo dodged the incoming slashes of their sword and quickly threw Destructix like a boomerang, watching it cut through the viruses with easy as it returned to his hand.

He looked down to see a weakened Musashi next to him, trying to use it's blade to raise itself up again. Solo wasn't having any of that.

"Get lost..." he said somberly, losing interest in it as he kicked it aside, making it scurry away back to the wave road.

Solo tossed Destructix into the air as it reverted back to Laplace. He walked over to the small hill as he laid down on the grass.

"Zzzzzttzzzz..."

"What is it?" Solo asked as he opened an eye to see the Wizard.

"Zzzzttttzzzzz...zzzzzzztttttzzz."

"Nothing is bothering me. It's none of your concern." he replied with a growl.

"Zzzzttzzzzt..."

"I said shut it, alright!" Solo yelled out. "Why don't you just leave me alone for a bit...Now get back in here." he added as he held his Hunter-VG out and Laplace reluctantly did as he was told.

Finally with some peace and quiet, Solo looked up to the blue sky as he mind trailed back to the fight with Gemini several weeks ago. Something had been bugging him lately. He couldn't remember how it was he had been knocked out. It couldn't have been the Gemini Clones; he had dispatched them himself.

"Something is just off...I can feel it in my blood."

" _Consider this a warning..."_

"Those words...I couldn't have been imagining things, could I?" he groaned as he placed his hand atop his forehead, trying to recall everything. "But if I was just imagining it all in my head...then why do I feel so uneasy?"

* * *

Later at WAZA:

"Well...umm...this is unexpected..." Ace said bewildered as he took a bite out of his Mega Snack as he looked on at the humanoid Mega and Lyra.

"Tell me about it." Geo added as he looked on at the two Wizards.

"Any idea on what could have caused this, Arthur?" Dr. Goodall turned and asked the Satella commander.

"Yeah...I'd like to know exactly what the hell changed me into this...and I'm REALLY close to my limit here..." Mega bemoaned greatly.

"Oh will you just grow up...must you complain about everything?" Lyra asked as she face-palmed her head into her hand.

"Well...it's hard to say, really...We'll probably have to do some major scans, and check the VG Rings themselves. But as for right now, your guess is as good as mine." Ace replied as he scratched his head.

"How long should that take?" asked Geo.

"I'm sure we should know something by the end of the day. It shouldn't be that hard to find out what made them like this." Goodall added in.

"All day, huh? Well, we've got nothing better to do, right?" Geo asked as he turned to Sonia. "What do you think?"

"Why don't you two go out and enjoy the day to yourselves?" Lyra suggested. "It's far too nice out today to stay all cooped up inside."

"Speak for yourself..." Mega groaned.

"That sounds like a nice idea. What do you think, Geo?" Sonia asked as she turned to her boyfriend.

"Might as well. It's better than doing nothing." Geo said as he began to take his VG Ring and handed it to Ace, with Sonia following suit.

"Just hold onto your Hunters that way I can get a hold of you if we find something out. Hopefully we can find the cause of this problem." Ace said as he took their Rings from them.

"Oh we know the cause...and I'm looking at it right now." Mega bellowed lowly as he got up in Ace's face.

"I said I was sorry." Ace gulped weakly.

"Oh, will you just behave?" Lyra sighed and rolled her eyes.

After Geo was finally able to get Mega to settle down, he and Sonia left the main building and made their way to the Wave Liner platform as they pondered over what to do.

"Well...we already went to Wilshire Hills yesterday. Chances are it's pretty crowded this time of day." Geo said as they reached the small platform and waited for their liner.

"Hmm..." pondered Sonia as she ran several ideas through her head, she then noticed how hot it felt out today, then it hit her like a rock. "Why don't we go to Alohaha and hit the beach? This hot weather is just right for swimming."

"Well, I have to admit, it is pretty hot out. It would be really refreshing." Geo said as he thought about the sandy beach and cool water, but his mind soon trailed to another thought that made him blush. Last time they went, they were just kids, but now they were almost adults...and seeing Sonia in a bathing suit really made his teenage hormones take his mind over as he envisioned what she would look like wearing one.

"Something wrong?" Sonia asked as she looked at him.

"Nah, of course not." he lied. "I'm just really looking forward to hitting the beach." He was trying his best to keep his blush hidden.

"That reminds me; we'll probably need to go to the nearest clothing store once we get to Alohaha. Swimming in our clothes probably wouldn't been a good idea." she added. _"And besides...I want to find something that will knock you off your feet."_ She thought mischievously to herself.

Eventually, the Wave Liner pulled up to the small platform and opened its doors up as the young couple boarded it, the doors closing behind them as they took the nearest seats on the crowded liner and sat back as the liner soon left and continued its usual route down the line towards Alohaha.

* * *

Alohaha:

The two eventually arrived at their destination and immediately headed to the nearest clothing store near the resort by the beach. Geo had gone through several racks of swimming trunks, looking for the one that appealed the most to him. He had settled on a pair of red trunks that had a white stripe on both sides running down the short leggings. He had grabbed a blue towel and a white button-up shirt to go along with it. He paid for everything and made his way over to the changing stalls nearby, not taking long to get changed, and stepped out with his normal clothes in a bag as he placed the towel around his neck and shoulders.

"Man, is it just me, or does it seem hotter here than what it was like back in Echo Ridge and at WAZA" he asked himself as he pulled his Visualizer over his eyes. Despite their intended functions, they made for a good pair of sunglasses.

Geo sat down on a bench as he waited for Sonia. Something told him she might be a good while, having learned from experience when he and his dad were dragged along by Hope to go clothes shopping.

Geo laid back in the bench, his arms spread out on top of it as he relaxed in the shade of the palm tree the bench had been placed by, before Sonia's voice snapped him out of his relaxing moment.

"So...how do I look?"

Geo rose up as his eyes landed on Sonia. It was a good thing he kept his Visualizer on; he was blushing like a mad man.

Sonia's face had a pink tint to it as she looked away from him, wearing a bikini set with pink and red stripes, the bottom having a see-through white cover-up.

"You look...amazing." Geo managed to get out, trying his best to keep his hormones in control. The fact that the bikini highlighted everything about how Sonia looked didn't help much either.

"Thanks...you don't look so bad yourself..." she blushed as she saw his exposed chest. Geo wasn't exactly the type of guy that worked out, but all the years of busting viruses and everything else he did with Mega had kept him pretty fit.

Geo got up and Sonia walked alongside him as they made their way down to the beach, finding a pair of chairs under a large beach umbrella as they sat their bags down, with Geo placing his towel down on the chair and throwing his shirt off.

"Well, ready to go for a dip then?" Sonia asked as she undid the knot in the cover-up around her waist. "Last one in buys ice cream later." she stuck her tongue out and ran towards the sea.

"Hey, no fair! You got a head start!" Geo exclaimed as he chased after her, scooping her up in

his arms.

"Let go, we're going to...!" Sonia laughed as she felt his fingers touch her skin, almost as if he were tickling her, but being off balance caused both of them to fall into the water as the waves washed over them.

"That was your fault..." Geo said as he began to try to get the taste of salt water out of his mouth.

"Yeah, right...you're the one that picked me up too fast and made us fall." she replied as she swiped her hand across the water and splashed into Geo's face.

"OK, now you're asking for it!" Geo proclaimed as he retaliated with his own water assault as the two splashed each other back and forth, letting the inner children in them have fun, just forgetting all their worries for the day.

* * *

"Man, we really needed this, didn't we?" Geo asked relaxingly as he laid out on the sand, the ocean's waves gently moving up to them as Sonia sat beside him with her legs to her chest as she gazed out into the deep blue, the sun setting out in the distance as the sky lit up in a mixture of orange and red.

"Yeah, I guess we did. Granted the last time we were here, things didn't exactly end well..." she replied somberly.

Geo remembered all too well. He thought back to how everyone thought Luna was dead after Joker had deleted her before their eyes, but luckily, he had been able to recover her data frags and Dr. Goodall was able to restore her.

"Yeah...but it all turned out alright in the end, after all. We got Luna back in one piece."

"You're right..." Sonia smiled softly as she thought back to this morning.

~Flashback: earlier in the day~

 _Sonia made her way down the sidewalk as she headed toward Geo's house, feeling the cool breeze wash over her while it lasted before it would be warming up later on in the day as the weather report had said._

" _So...I saw you two come back home last night. I take it you had a good time?" came a voice as Sonia turned to find herself passing the apartment where Luna lived. The blonde sat under the tree in the yard as she read from her book._

" _Luna...What are you up so early?" Sonia asked as the girl rose up from her spot and closed the book._

" _I always make it a point to read early in the morning as soon as I get up." she replied. "So?"_

" _We had a good time...we really enjoyed ourselves out in Wilshire Hills." Sonia said as she gently gripped her necklace._

" _Well that's good to hear. After all, quality time with one another IS what strengthens a relationship." Luna said as she walked over to her. "So I take it you're heading over to his place, then?"_

" _Yes. I asked if I could come over, because I was needing to talk about something with him."_

" _Well, if that's the case, I won't keep you. Hope you enjoy your day, Sonia." Luna smiled as she turned to her apartment._

" _Luna, wait!"_

" _Hmm?"_

" _You don't...hate me, do you?" Sonia asked. "About me and Geo..."_

 _Luna sighed as she turned to face the young girl._

" _You know...I always considered you a rival for his affections...I tried so hard to tell him. To be honest, I confessed to him a few weeks before graduation. But he told me although he didn't know how to say it, he was in love with you. I'll admit, I was kind of crushed, but at the same time, I could also understand where he was coming from. I remember when we first met, he was so shut in over what happened to his dad, but I think if you hadn't have met him, Sonia, he wouldn't be the Geo we know today. And I guess I can be grateful for that. You're important to him, Sonia; in more ways than one. And if that means me and Geo can only be friends, then I can live with that. I told him how I felt, and he told me how he felt. And it's you he cares for._

" _Luna..."_

" _Just promise me you'll always watch out for him, okay?" she smiled as she placed a hand on Sonia's shoulder._

" _I will." Sonia replied with a smile._

~End Flashback~

"Hey...let's go for a walk before we leave." Sonia suggested as she got up and offer her hand to Geo as he took it and got up with her, and the two made their way over to the pier as they walked along hand in hand, enjoying the calm sound of the ocean, the chirping of the seagulls and the light breeze that had rolled in and taken the place of the summer heat.

Soon they had made their way over to the wooden dock at the end, taking in the view as Sonia sat down on the edge, with Geo sitting beside her.

"You know...this place brings back memories for me the first time I was here." Sonia said.

"Same here." replied Geo.

"That night we stood here and held hands...I knew that was the moment I realized I loved you...granted we were only eleven, but they call it young love for a reason I suppose."

"Why do you think it took us so long to come to terms with how we felt?" Geo posed to her.

"We were just inexperienced, I guess. I kept my feelings bottled up inside for so long. I wasn't sure of how to come to you about them. What about you?"

"Like you said, we were young. We had no idea how to go about talking to one another about how we felt. And besides, if I had went to mom, she would NEVER let me hear the end of it." he said, earning a small laugh from Sonia.

"But...it turned out alright in the end, didn't it? We have each other now." she said as she looked down at the water, before feeling Geo's hand tighten around hers.

"And to me, that's all that matters." he smiled gently before looking past Sonia's face and seeing a small ice cream cart. "Wait here a second!" he said as he jumped up and ran on over to the cart, and returned just as fast with two light-blue ice cream bars on popsicle sticks.

"Thanks." she smiled and took a bite out of it, feeling a very salty, but sweet sensation in her mouth. "What kind of ice cream is this?"

"The Mr. Hertz inside the cart said it's a new Alohaha classic that came out a few years ago. I think it's called Sea-salt Ice Cream."

"It's so good..." Sonia smiled as she ate more of it as Geo began to eat his while the two stared out and watched the sun fade off into the horizon.

* * *

Later in the night, back at WAZA:

"Well...I got good news, and I got some bad news..." Ace sighed as he sat down after giving Geo and Sonia back their VG Rings. "Good news is, I know what cause this change to happen to Omega-Xis and Lyra; the bad news is, this looks to be permanent."

"Oh, I am SO going to..." Mega said as Lyra slapped the back of his head.

"Just be grateful that we're alive. I think that's really all that matters."

"So, what exactly cause them to change like this?" Sonia asked.

"Well, when we were developing the VG Rings, we were missing a certain algorithm code to prevent the Wizard Program from crashing. We wanted to test the Rings out as soon as possible, so we substituted the missing code with what we originally used to design Clockman, which was based on the old coding used in NetNavis back in 20XX. It was only until we completed the brand-new compatible coding and replaced the old one. If it had been any normal Wizard, I doubt nothing would have happened, but Mega and Lyra weren't originally Wizards; they were converted from their original AM/FM-ian selves, and I think that was the factor that brought upon their changes."

"See, Mega? It wasn't entirely Ace's fault. The blame can be put on you a bit too, and seeing as how I converted you the day the Hunter-VG came out, it's mostly my fault too." Geo said as he looked up at the Wizard.

"Yeah, well...this still stinks." he replied.

"Anyway, I've replaced the coding with the new algorithm, so hopefully you shouldn't encounter anymore surprise glitches."

"You call this a glitch?" growled Mega, which ended with another smack from Lyra.

"Should we still be able to Wave Change?" Geo asked.

"Yeah, I think you're safe. Shouldn't been any issues with that."

"Well that's good to know." Sonia said.

"Well, ready to head on home?" Geo asked he turned to Sonia.

"Are you kidding me? After today, I'm ready to fall head-first into my pillows."

* * *

Echo Ridge:

"Well...looks like my summer vacation is almost over." sighed Geo as he stared out into the stars from atop Vista Point.

"Oh right, I forgot you start college in a few weeks." Sonia replied.

"Well, it's not entirely ALL bad..."

"Why's that?"

"I'll have you, won't I?" Geo asked as he turned to look at her.

Sonia smiled gently as she moved in and kissed him gently, his lips against hers feeling so soothing.

"You will...besides, it would take A LOT to make me drive myself away from you."

"Well, that's good to know." he laughed as he kissed her once more, this time even deeper.

"Mmm...I am never going to get tired of that." Sonia cheekily smiled as she rested her head on Geo's shoulder.

"Neither will I." Geo replied as he intertwined his fingers with hers.


	6. Ch6 Prologue, Part 6

Hey everyone, it's BassDS here, back with the final chapter to the Prologue arc of Shooting Star Lovers, and now we've come to the final change I've made to this re-uploading process.

First off, the story from this point originally shifted to an M Rating because I wanted to have some more maturer content, mostly filled with some 'steamy' scenes (insert evil chuckle), but looking back now, that process very well screwed the original upload because by default, doesn't show M rated fanfics right off the bat; only K-T, so in the end, even though I did upload a bit after this point, I can see now that the move wasn't entirely the best idea.

So going forward, Shooting Star Lovers will remain a T rated story that way everyone has access to it; HOWEVER, seeing as I'm stubborn as all hell and don't want to abandon my original mature scenes content, you will be able to view the uncut chapters in the story 'Shooting Star Lovers: UNCUT, so that way if you'd prefer the chapters that have more content because of those certain scenes, you'll have easy access to them.

So now with that out of the way, let's get this last speed bump out of the way so we can get back on track, shall we? I hope you all enjoy it, everyone.

* * *

Shooting Star Lovers

Ch.6 Prologue, Part 6 – Four Simple Words

* * *

The annoying buzz pierced through his sleep as Geo woke up and groggily turned off the alarm on his VG Brace before wiping away the remnant of his sleep from his eyes.

"Why do I keep setting my alarm even though I'm on winter break?" he asked himself as he looked to the skylight in his room. "Force of habit, I guess..."

He opened up the VG interface to find Mega still sound asleep. Geo was even amazed that Mega could have slept through that noise.

"I won't wake him up just yet." he smiled as he placed his hunter down and moved up to his skylight's window to look outside. "Wow...it's coming down pretty fast. Well, with only two days before Christmas, at least it'll be a white one.

If anything had changed over the years, it was the climate. Normally Echo Ridge had never even had snow, but nowadays they were graced with a pretty good amount. Seeing the white fluffy stuff fall down brought Geo back to when he first experienced it all those years ago atop Grizzly Peak.

"Shouldn't cause too much of a problem." he said as his VG Brace went off to alert him to a video call.

"Ugh...can you PLEASE get that?" Mega groaned out as the noise woke him up.

" _NOW he wakes up."_ Geo thought and smiled to himself as he moved down to answer it; his mom and dad appearing on the screen.

"Hey, kiddo. Hope we didn't catch you at a bad time." Kelvin said.

"Nah, just woke up. Are you guys still at the station?" he asked.

"About that...I don't think we'll be home in time for Christmas, honey." Hope added in. "The snow is pretty bad over here. We're getting a different train for later this week when weather lightens up."

"Well that's a big damper on the plans we had. So are you guys going back to Grandpa's?" Geo asked.

"It looks like it. I'm sure he won't mind the extended company." Kelvin chuckled a bit.

"We WILL be back before New Year's though, even if we have to drive in whatever this mess leaves laying around." finished Hope.

"Just stay safe. That's all I care about." Geo replied.

"Soooo...have you asked her yet?" Hope said as she grinned at her son.

"Not yet...I was thinking of asking her tonight at the party..." he said as his mind trailed back to the talk they had just a few days prior.

~Flashback: Four Days Ago~

" _Do I really want to do this?" Geo said to himself as he laid on his bed staring at the ceiling. "Am I even ready?"_

 _His eyes gazed over to the picture of him and Sonia on one of their many dates. They had been together for about 7 months, and they both knew they were madly in love with one another. That thought was reinforced by the fact that during their struggle against Gemini Genesis, Sonia was willing to sacrifice herself to protect him and ensure Gemini's destruction. Granted he still didn't remember much of that day. All he remembered was getting knocked out one minute and waking up bandaged in his room the next._

 _Mega looked over at his partner being lost in thought. Even if he had said something, he doubted it would have snapped him out of it. Finally..._

" _Hey. You still alive in there?" Mega said as he tapped Geo's forehead with one of his fingers._

" _Huh? Oh, sorry Mega. Did you say something?"_

" _What's gotten into you? You've been like this ever since break started." he replied._

" _I'm just thinking..."_

" _Sonia." he said as he place his head in his claw and propped it up._

" _Guess I make it pretty obvious, don't I?" he replied as he thought about the dark pink haired girl._

" _Yep."_

" _Geo! We're home!" Geo rose up as he heard his mother's voice echo from downstairs._

" _Perfect timing..." he said as he jumped off his bed and headed down._

" _Just put them on the couch for now, dear." Hope said as Kelvin lugged a bunch of wrapped gifts in and placed them down._

" _You REALLY love to get your shopping done last minute, don't you?" her husband asked._

" _Well hey, sometimes you can find some really good deals when its just a week away from Christmas." she said and moved over to kiss his cheek. "My big strong man. Thanks for bringing them in."_

" _You sure you got enough, mom?" Geo asked looking at the small mountain._

" _Well I sure hope so. Because I am NOT going back out in that massacre." Kelvin said as he grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge._

" _Oh, before I forget." she said as she dug through her purse and pulled out two tickets. "We're going to be leaving you to watch the house for a few days. We should be back before Christmas."_

" _Where are you guys heading?"_

" _Well I figured me and your dad would check up on your great-grandfather and see how he is."_

" _Even in a home, for a 90-year old man, Patch sure gets around." Kelvin said taking a drink of his water._

" _So what about you? Did you get your shopping done?" Hope asked._

" _Yeah, I pretty much bought everyone something within the price range I had...well, except for Sonia..." he said as he placed his arms down and propped his head up on the counter._

" _Came up short a bit, eh?" Kelvin said_

" _No...I mean, I have something in mind...but money isn't the issue..."_

" _Ohh...planning something special for her, aren't you?" Hope grinned. "I don't want to butt in, but can I help?" she clasped her hands together. When it came to her son's love interest, she ALWAYS wanted to know every detail. Who can blame her; aren't ALL moms like that?_

" _Actually, Mom...you can." Geo said as he took a moment to breathe in and collect the words in his head. "Can I have the engagement ring that Dad gave you?"_

" _My ring?" Hope looked down at the gold band lined with a diamond in the middle as she did a double take before the words finally hit her. "AHHHH!"_

 _That quick reaction nearly made_ _Kelvin choke on his water as he had taken a sip just as his wife screamed out._

" _Geo Stelar, tell me you're not kidding!? Are you really going to propose?" she asked._

" _Whosajigawha?" Mega asked, finding himself a bit dumbfounded at the concept._

" _Well, that kinda was the plan, Mom." he said._

" _You sure about this Geo? I mean, you're only halfway through your first year of college. You really think you're ready to take a leap this big?" Kelvin asked as he finally collected himself._

 _Hope finally was able to calm herself down as well. "Your father is right, Geo. Are you absolutely sure you want to do this? I mean, this is a life commitment here. There's no getting cold feet at the last moment."_

" _It just feels right to me, Mom...Sonia's had her fair share of things happen to her that she shouldn't have had to go through alone. And I want to be right next to her and make sure she never has to be alone ever again. Making her happy is what makes me happy. I'm absolutely sure: I want to marry Sonia." he said looking up at his mother's eyes and could make out tears forming in them._

 _It was plain as day to Hope; her son was finally ready to make his own life._

" _Looks like it's time to let the bird leave the nest, dear. There's no getting around it." Kelvin said as he moved up behind her and place his hand on her shoulder. "This is his decision, and from what I can see in his eyes, he's determined to do it._

 _All Hope could do was let out a sigh as she smiled down at her son._

" _You win." she said as her fingers moved to the gold band and slid it off her finger as she placed it in Geo's hand. "Go get my future daughter-in-law, young man." she smiled happily._

~End Flashback~

"Just remember to relax and stay calm." Kelvin said as he added in. "You don't want to embarrass yourself."

"Oh, you mean just like you did? If I recall, you flubbed your lines up and it wasn't until I kissed you and took the ring that you finally managed to get it out properly." she replied smugly to her husband.

"I don't think I'll mess up." Geo said as he forced a small laugh out. "Anyway, I'll talk to you guys later. I've got a few things to do before tonight."

"Alright dear, just remember to keep calm and just say what comes natural. I'm sure even IF you mess up, Sonia will say yes anyway." Hope smiled as she looked back to Kelvin.

"I will. Stay safe, you guys." Geo said as he ended the call and placed his hunter down on the nightstand and moved over to his closet and pulled out a red sweatshirt and black pants from his wardrobe. "Should be comfortable enough for tonight. Speaking of which, I better get a few things done before the party." he said and looked back over to Mega, quickly finding the alien fast asleep again.

Geo turned as he looked out the window. Lately, he had been feeling a little uneasy about asking Sonia to marry him. What if he was rushing things...? He was starting to second guess himself and the whole proposal. His mind was now filled with doubt, and it scared him.

"Do I really want to do this?" he questioned himself as he cradled his head in his hand and tried to sort his feelings out.

* * *

Hope closed out the video window as she and Kelvin walked out of the station and waited for the next cab to pull up into the parking lot.

"It feels like just yesterday I was bathing him, taking him to the park and cleaning up his messes after dinner..." she said as a tear formed in her eye from the thought.

"They grow up so fast, don't they?" Kelvin said.

"Now my little boy doesn't need me anymore..."

"Nah, he'll always need you. You're his mother. But look on the bright side...at least we'll probably have some grandkids running around in the near future." he said to attempt to brighten her mood.

"Now I feel older than I am." she said looking up at her husband and shot a mild glare.

"Just trying to make you feel better about things."

"I know you are, you big lug." she said as gently kissed him. "But seriously, I don't mind being a grandmother, but I am NOT ready to have any gray hairs. Gray just isn't me." she said as he felt her smooth hair.

* * *

Later that night, Geo began placing the presents he had bought into a large bag and zipped it up nice and tight as he set them on the couch and began to get the lights turned out before he left.

"You know, since you're lugging presents around on the way over, we might as well grab a red suit and stuff some pillows in your shirt to make you look like the big guy." Mega said as Geo switched the last light off.

"I think Ace is taking care of that. From what I heard from Jack, Tia forced him into it JUST so Alexis could see Santa bring presents to her. I guess they felt bad for her after she fell asleep for the past three years waiting for Santa to come." Geo laughed a bit as he flipped the last light before grabbing the bag from the couch.

"So the wave road is it then?" Mega asked.

"Well, it IS the fastest way, and no, you can't bust any viruses on the way. I don't want to be late. And besides, we've got Sonia and Lyra coming with us anyway. Maybe tomorrow."

"Ugh...fine. I'll settle with the ones above WAZA's wave roads. I'm sure Acidna will want to kill some time too. Besides, now that I think about it, I've a score to settle with him." Mega said. "So, you gonna ask her?"

Geo sat down on the couch next to the bag as his hand landed atop his forehead as his mind trailed back to the proposal in his mind.

"Part of me feels ready, but the other half just doesn't want to take the risk...I mean, Sonia's the closest thing to a childhood friend I have, considering I preferred to play by myself most of the time when I was little. Then there was the shutdown after Dad went missing."

"Are you just over-thinking things?"

"You wouldn't understand, Mega. Sonia means so much to me, and I want to be with her, but I also don't want to risk pushing her away."

"You've stared down Andromeda, Le Mu, Apollon, even that Crimson Dragon, yet you're too scared to just say a simple question? Seriously, Geo, grow a spine." Mega added.

"Just put a sock in it, Mega. I don't have time for this..." Geo bemoaned as he rubbed his forehead before a small knock was heard coming from the door.

"Better start growing that spine." Mega said as he retreated to the VG Ring as Geo got up to answer the door; the bag of presents in his hand.

"Just take it easy, Geo...focus, remain calm..." he whispered to himself as he turned the doorknob as he eyes landed upon Sonia's petite face.

"Well, aren't you Santa's little helper? I hope one of those is for me." Sonia said as she looked upon her boyfriend as he opened the door to greet her. She wore a pink coat that covered the black sweatshirt she wore along with matching pants. But aside from that was the Santa hat she wore that was adorned with reindeer horns.

"Maybe~" he said. "Want me to carry those? I'm already at it anyway." he asked as he looked at the bag Sonia held in her hand. He did his best to put on a good face and conceal his worryment.

"Such a gentleman." she said handing it to him as she pecked him on the lips.

"Can we go now?" Mega asked.

"Behave, you." Lyra said and hit his head.

"Oww...alright...sheesh..."

"Well, we better get going if we want to be there on time." Geo said as he transformed into Mega Man and jump toward the wave road.

"Well, I AM not one for being late. Especially to a party." Sonia replied as she turned into Harp Note and followed suit.

* * *

"Come on, big red man..I'm waiting for ya..." Alexis said as she kept her eye on the huge tree that stood in the middle of the foyer.

"She sure is hellbent, isn't she?" Jack said as he looked on at his young niece.

"Are you kidding me? I went through the fridge this morning and found a six pack of soda and some of Ace's snacks missing." Tia said as she set the trays of food on the table. '"With all the caffeine she hijacked and has hidden, she WILL be up all night."

"That's my little girl." Ace said as he entered the room with Dr. Goodall.

"Well she certainly acts like you at times." Goodall replied.

"Speaking of which on those snacks, Santa..." Tia said as she moved over to Ace and poked his thin stomach. How he kept it like that with all the Mega Snacks he ate mystified her. "Come New Years, you ARE going on a diet with those things. You know too much of that stuff can't be good for you; even if you stay in shape."

"Better start making a secret stash." Jack laughed at his brother-in-law. "Unless..."

"Kissing up to me isn't going to work, either. I've learned my mistake in falling for that." Tia said making her stand on the matter.

"So I take it we're the first ones here?" came a voice as they looked over to see Luna and Zack enter the building.

"Looks like it." Jack said as he picked up a piece of pie and took a bite out of it.

"Odd...I figured Bud would be here first." Luna said as she looked around for him.

"He said he had to head over to Grizzly Peak today."

"Don't tell me it was another eating contest at Foodtopia again..." Luna rolled her eyes at the thought.

"He didn't say, to be honest." Zack replied. "Besides, the contest was last month anyway."

"That is true. My data banks clearly remember him winning with the fastest time among all the competitors." Pedia added.

"Well feel free to dig in while we wait." Ace suggested as he swiped the piece of pie Jack was holding out of his hand.

"Hey, that's the last slice of strawberry. Give it back." Jack retorted.

"Make me, little brother." Ace grinned as he opened his mouth to eat it.

"Give me back...my pie!" Jack cried as he jumped on Ace's back; legs wrapped around his waist as they fought for control of the pie.

"Now, now, boys, we've got more pies coming soon." Dr. Goodall said jokingly as she watched on.

"I swear, these two are going to make my hair turn gray before I'm fifty." Tia groaned as her husband and brother continued to war over the pie.

"Hey, Prez, did Geo say when he was getting here?" Zack asked as they moved over to the table lined with food and grabbed their plates.

"I messaged him his morning, he said he would be here around 8:30 with Sonia." she said as she looked at the clock on her VG Ring as the display showed 8:02.

No sooner had she said that, a blue blur phased through the ceiling as Mega Man landed in the foyer; Harp Note appearing just seconds behind him.

"Looks like I win." He grinned as he fell back onto the floor with the bag in hand and reverted to normal.

"I'll give you that one." she replied as she changed back as well. "But next time you WON'T win.

"Glad you could drop in. Literally, might I add." Ace said as their appearance distracted him, causing Jack to dart his head to the pie in Ace's hand and downing it in one gulp. "Hey, my pie!"

"Well, now then, if you don't mind..." Mega said as he exited Geo's VG Ring and stretched out for a moment before calling Acid out. "Yo, Acidna, I know you can hear me; meet me on the roof, NOW! It's payback time for breaking my record." he said as he made his way to the roof.

"Why does he always feel the need to be so loud?" Lyra said as she flicked the front of her hair gently as she watched him leave. "Makes me wonder what I even see in him..." she sighed, earning a giggle from Sonia as Geo picked himself off the floor and dusted himself off.

Luna looked down at her VG Ring as Vogue jumped up and down happily as she retreated into her little hat and pulled out a piece of mail.

"Oh, I got a message from Bud." she said as she had Vogue open it up as her eyes scanned the text.

"What's he say?" Zack asked.

"Well, he got snowed in at Grizzly Peak, but he said he would just take the EM Road and come to the party for tonight." she said as she closed it out. "Thank you, Vogue." she said, earning a happy reply from the bunny-like Wizard.

"Well, until then, let's eat. I haven't had anything all day." Geo exclaimed. "The presents can wait until we're all here."

* * *

"Alexis, are you sure you don't want any of my cake?" Sonia asked as she knelt down to the little girl; her eyes still glued to the tree.

"No cake. Waiting for Santa..." she replied before taking a large swig of her can of soda.

Sonia giggled as she rose up and sat on the small couch next to the tree.

"She certainly is determined, isn't she?" Luna said as she sat down beside Sonia before taking a drink of her tea.

"Well, we were all like that once, I suppose." Sonia remarked with a smile, thinking back to the times she would try to stay up late on Christmas Eve.

"So how's things been going with you two?"

"We've been doing fine. We're just taking things one day at a time. No need to rush it or anything." Sonia replied.

"I don't mean to pry...but have you..." Luna began to say.

"W-what? No, of course not...I mean...I'm ready, but I'm not sure if Geo is or not." Sonia said as her face grew red with embarrassment.

"Well, haven't you asked him?"

"That's like asking a cow to bark instead of mooing." she retorted, her face still red.

"Well...what about marriage?" Luna asked. "I mean, sure you've only been together for half a year, but you've known one another for much longer."

"I haven't really thought about it...I'm fine the way things are now. But...if he was to ask me to marry him, I'm prepared to face that life, even if I'm nervous about it."

"I'd say Geo would probably feel the same way you do on the matter; it's an unknown future that you'd both face together." Luna replied with a smile before the words she had spoken hit her like a rock. "Oh my...sorry I put you on the spot like that." she replied nervously.

"Heh...no, don't be. You're right. I need to start thinking about mine and Geo's future together...I've thought about it a lot, but I wasn't too sure with myself...I guess a part of me is scared of messing up and losing him forever."

"Oh please...as if Geo would EVER leave you." Luna laughed as Sonia quietly chuckled along with her.

"Maybe you're right..." Sonia muttered to herself as she looked up and saw Geo across the room as he talked with Jack.

"Well, FINALLY. What took you so long?" Zack asked as Bud walked through the doors into the foyer.

"Well sorry...it's not easy racing down the Wave Roads while keeping a passenger warm." Bud replied as he took his coat off.

"Passenger?" Luna asked with a raised eyebrow as she got up off the couch with Sonia following suit.

"Hiya!" came a calm happy voice as a young woman with long brown hair and a yellow band popped up from behind him, smiling wide, revealing her chipmunk-like front two teeth.

"Amy!?" Zack exclaimed upon seeing the professional skier.

"In the flesh." she smiled.

"I hope you don't mind me being late, but I really wanted to bring her here with me. But once the buses were shut down due to the heavy snow up there, it was already kinds late when we left on the Wave Road." Bud added.

"Silly soft stuff. Won't stop me." Taurus said as he emerged from Bud's VG Ring. "Hey Bud, I think I saw Omega-Xis on the roof. I'll catch you later. I've got a score to settle." he said before warping away to meet Mega and Acid atop the building.

Sonia walked over to Geo as he moved to the small gathering as well.

"Who's that, Geo?"

"Amy Gelande. She's a world-renowned skier. We actually met her at the resort her dad owns back during that whole Dr. Vega incident." he replied to her.

"It's great to see you again, Zack. Bud told me you look so much different now than you did all those years ago." Amy stated happily.

"I saw that you ended up winning the gold last year at the World Games. Congratulations."

"Oh, it was nothing."

"Are you kidding me? I heard you tore those slopes up." Geo added in.

"How have you been, Geo?" Amy asked. "I mean, besides saving the world and all." she smiled.

"Ancient history. It's been nice and quiet around here, and hopefully things stay that way."

Amy laughed as she looked over and saw Sonia standing next to him, and almost immediately she ran over and grab her hand; her eyes lighting up with excitement.

"You're Sonia Strumm, aren't you?" she asked.

"Guilty as charged." she replied nervously and was met with a squeal.

"I have ALL of your soundtracks. I listen to them when I need inspiration for some new moves out on the slopes." she happily said as she turned to Bud. "Bud sweetie, why didn't you tell me you knew a famous pop star?"

"Sweetie?" Geo, Zack and Luna said in unison.

"Well, it was kind of a complicated matter, Amy." Bud tried to say, before Zack cut him off.

"Back to the subject at hand, Bud...she called you 'sweetie'." he said to him.

"Well, it's better than Budikens, isn't it?" Amy replied as she wrapped both her arms around Bud's big arm. "Besides, he IS my fiancee' after all."

"I'm sorry...I think my ear was clogged...mind running that by me again?" Luna asked sarcastically.

"I'm engaged to Bud." Amy smiled happily as she took one of her gloves off, revealing a small gold ring. "he proposed to me yesterday."

"But...I mean, it's...how did this happen?" Zack asked, wanting some answers.

"Well...I went to last year's food contest at Foodtopia and ran into Amy, and we sort of hit it off...I told her how I felt for the past couple of years..."

"And I did the same. Ever since he helped save me up on the peaks...I've felt like Bud's been a part of me ever since. So when he asked, I said yes. Although Daddy was a little worried at first, but I'm his only child, so I figured he'd be a little overprotective." Amy added.

"Well, all I can say is good luck to you both." Luna said as she took a sip of her tea.

"Same here. Good luck to the both of you." Zack joined in as well.

Geo could only look on at Bud and Amy as he placed his hand in his pocket and felt the ring within it, his mind trailing back to the simple question in the back of his head, until Sonia snapped him out of his daze.

"They make a pretty cute couple, don't they?" Sonia smiled gently as she wrapped her arm over Geo's and intertwined their hands.

"Yeah...yeah, I suppose they do." Geo said absently.

"Geo, something wrong?" Sonia asked. She sensed something was amiss with him.

"Nah, I'm fine. Just wondering how Mom and Dad are doing." he said, regaining his composure and tried to put up a good face for Sonia.

Sonia looked up at him gently. "You sure, you seem on-edge. You can tell me, Geo."

"It's nothing. Don't worry about it." he smiled as he held her close, trying his best not to let his thoughts clouding his mind enough to worry her.

"If you say so..." she said as she rested her head on his shoulder. Even though she said that, a part of her still felt that something was obviously troubling him.

* * *

"Oh yeah! Record reclaimed!" Mega exclaimed as he saw the virus-busting numbers show he had a higher score than Acid and Taurus.

"This is highly illogical." Acid stated.

"You HAD to have cheated somehow." Taurus said with a hint of anger.

"Well I don't cheat. That was all me!" he cried out in victory. "Feel free to take me on any time." he gloated.

* * *

Alexis was fast asleep in front of the tree as Ace walked out in his Santa outfit, only to find his daughter sleeping soundly.

"Well...feels like it was a waste to put this on..." he sighed as he picked her up in his arms. "Bedtime for you." he chuckled a bit as he headed toward the stairs.

"So what's next for you, Bud?" Geo asked as they looked out the window as the snow fell gently.

"I'm going into culinary school. Amy's dad is actually going to be helping me in paying for my student loans for all the classes. It's going to take a while, but I know I can pull it off." Bud stated. "What about you? How's college been going for you?"

"It's been okay. Once I'm done with my second year, I can start working at AMAKEN with my dad, and then when I finish up, hopefully I can head out into space with him."

"Hey Geo..I was wondering something..." Bud began to speak up as Geo turned to him. "Think you wouldn't mind being my best man at the wedding?"

"Not at all, Bud. You're my friend, so I'm glad to help." Geo said as he yawned gently.

"Heh, sounds like you're ready to hit the hay." Bud chuckled.

"He's not the only one." came Sonia's voice as she walked up to Geo and kissed his cheek. "Ready to go?"

"Very. I'm ready to get some shut-eye." Geo replied as he looked at his VG Ring to find Mega asleep with a smirk smile on his face. "Looks like someone has a head start." he said as he and Sonia headed out the door.

"Guess I'll catch you guys later." Bud said as he looked over and saw Amy curled up on the couch. "Come on, let's get you home, snow-bunny." he smiled as he picked her up and admired her calm face as she slept.

* * *

All was quiet in Echo Ridge as the two made their way back to Sonia's apartment. The silent ambiance was complimented by the white snow falling from the sky as the two walked hand in hand.

"It was fun spending time with everybody...it seems like we never have the time to do so nowadays." Sonia spoke as she looked up to the night sky.

"Hmm?...oh yeah, I suppose so..." Geo said, his eyes staring at the sidewalk; his thoughts being elsewhere at the moment as he carefully darted his eyes to the hand he had in his pocket as it gripped the small ring within.

Sonia took note of his tone and stopped in her tracks as her hand held firmly onto Geo's.

"Sonia?"

"Geo, what's wrong? You say you're fine but I can tell something's off with you. Please...tell me what's wrong..." her innocent eyes looked up into his as he noticed the look of concern for him on her face.

"It's nothing, really...I just have a lot on my mind right now..."

"Don't lie to me!" she yelled as she gripped his arm. "I know something's wrong...or am I not important enough for you to confide your problems in? Is that it!?" she cried as tears began to roll down her cheeks.

"No, that's not it...you know you're one of the first people I'd go to if something was bothering me." he said gently, trying to calm her down.

"Then trust me, Geo. Relationships are built on trust, but if you won't even trust in me enough to tell me why you've been on edge and lying to me about what's bothering you, then what kind of a relationship do we have if you won't let me help you?" she cried, letting her emotions get the best of her.

Her eyes gazed up into his as she fought to hold back even more tears.

"It's not that easy..."

"If you can't trust in me enough to let me help...then maybe we shouldn't be together..." she said as she kept her head down and began to walk away.

"Sonia, wait!" he said as he grabbed her wrist and held on to stop her from leaving. "I trust you; I really do...it's just...this is far more than a trivial matter..."

"I don't want to hear it anymore..." she said as she jerked her wrist from his grip. "I need to be alone." she murmured as she ran off toward her apartment as the floodgates opened and tears cascaded down her face; her heart hurting deeply.

"Sonia!" Geo cried out as he watched her run out of sight; he looked down at his hand and clenched it up into a fist as he became angry with himself; his stubbornness had caused him to push away the one he loved, all because he couldn't act out on the feelings he desperately wanted to pour out to her.

"I'm such an idiot..."

* * *

Sonia silently cried her heart out as she laid on her bed, clutching a pillow in her arms; her hand holding onto her heart pendant.

"Oh, Sonia..." Lyra quietly spoke as she watched on, wishing there was something she could do.

" _What am I going to do, Mama...I love him, but he won't let me help him. I want to be there for him, but he's pushing me away..."_ Sonia thought as she looked up at the picture they took during the town's fall festival last month.

Sonia closed her eyes as memories began to flash back to her; their first date at Wilshire Hills, the day they spent in Alohaha the past summer as they watched the sun setting over the horizon from the dock, even the fleeting hours they shared at Stardust Speedway, before she thought back to their first meeting as he helped her hide from her manager.

Lyra crossed her arms as she looked on, saddened that she couldn't think of anything to comfort the young woman she called her friend.

She pondered for a few moments, until the thought finally popped into her head, and she immediately cursed herself for not coming to such a conclusion sooner.

"I'll be right back, Sonia...I hate seeing you like this, so I promise to do what I can." she said quietly as she warped away out of the building.

* * *

"What the hell is wrong with me, Mega?" Geo asked as he sat down on the floor in the cab of the old locomotive that still stood in Vista Point.

"Why are you asking me? Romance isn't really my department." the Wizard replied as he laid atop the train's roof as he look up at the starry sky.

"I didn't think proposing would be this hard...it was bad enough I've felt like a nervous wreck inside for the past couple days, and now Sonia's upset at me...she probably hates me right now.

"I dunno...seems to me like you'd have to do something pretty drastic for her to hate your guts."

"Gee, thanks for the encouragement." he groaned as he pulled the ring out from his pocket and looked down at it. "What am I going to do?"

"Simple. You're going to fix this whole mess you've made." came Lyra's voice as she appeared before the young adult.

"Hey, who exactly invited you here?" Mega said as he peered into the cab from the roof through the side window. He was met with a deadly glare from Lyra. "I'll be shutting up now..." he gulped.

"Lyra..."

"How much does Sonia mean to you, Geo? Tell me now."

"She's everything to me; you know that." he said as he got up from the floor and looked up at the Wizard.

"Then why are you hurting her like this? She only wants to be there for you, and yet you keep to yourself and refuse to let her in."

"It's not that simple..." he began to retort. "This whole thing can drastically change her life, and I don't know if I want to put her in that position; I've been struggling with the thoughts of the whole idea, wondering if I'm rushing things too quickly..."

"Geo, you know as well as I do, Sonia would follow you to the ends of the earth just to be with you, and face every challenge head-on together. Isn't that something every human has to endure with the one they love?"

Geo stopped for a moment and let Lyra's words sink in. He let his mind think more into what she said, and she was right; as much as he didn't want to place Sonia into such a predicament, if she chose to stand by him in marriage at such an early part in their adult lives, it was her choice.

"Like I said, love and romance ain't my department, but as much as I hate agreeing with her...Lyra kinda has a point, kid." Mega butted in as he floated in through the window.

"I...I never even stopped to consider how she would feel. Maybe I've been hesitant because a part of me is scared she'll turn me down..." he said as he pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes as he leaned back against the wall. "I've let my fears cloud my judgment."

"Then face those fears...for Sonia's sake." Lyra spoke gently.

Geo remained silent as he raised his arm up to active the message function on his VG Ring as he began to type on the wave display.

"Her sake..." he softly murmured as a smile formed on his face.

* * *

The snow began to lighten up as she finally reached her destination and made her way down in front of the steps to Vista Point near the school as Sonia looked up to them. She replayed the image of the email she received, telling her to come to Vista Point. She began to wonder why she even showed up. She thought back to her argument with Geo earlier in the night as she moved her hand and wiped away the dry tear lines off her cheeks. She slowly began to head up the stairs to the newly made playground that was put it earlier in the year, before making her way up the steps to the steel deck. Geo was within her sight as he leaned forward against the railing as the light post attached to the deck shone down on him.

"I'm here...What did you want to talk about, or are you just doing this to toy with me?" her voice cracked a bit as she looked over at him.

Geo just stood there silently as he gazed out at the moon as its radiant light lit the sky.

"Answer me!"

Still there was silence.

"Fine...if you're just going to stand there and waste my time, then I'm leaving. I come all the way out here and-" she spoke out with hurt in her voice, only for Geo to cut her off.

"No...I wanted to come here so I could say this and get it off my chest. It only felt appropriate."

After a minute of silence between the two, he spoke up.

"This place; it holds so many memories for me. Ever since that day Dad vanished when I was a kid, I'd always come out here and look out to the stars, hoping to see him. Hoping he would come home with each passing year. Instead of him, I run into an alien-turned-maverick, get dragged into the mess HE made, and end up having to save the world."

This made Sonia think for a bit, remembering the first time she came here and sung for her mother...then meeting Geo...and all the times they shared over the years came flooding back to her. He was right; it held good memories for her grasped her heart pendant as she thought back to everything.

"Being here, let me meet Mega, it let me meet the guys..." he said as he turned around to face her. "It let me meet you, Sonia. This is where we formed our BrotherBand; this is where you became my first friend."

This snapped Sonia out of her daze as she released her pendant from her grip before looking forward and found herself staring straight into his eyes. "Wh-what are you saying?"

Geo said nothing as he walked closer and closer to her until they were close enough to let him gaze into her emerald-green eyes.

"I've though long and hard these past few days, and I was wasn't sure on if I wanted to; because I didn't want to force you into such a position. I was confused and didn't think about what you wanted...but I'm certain now, and I want to do this; this is where we started our friendship...and this is where I want to start the rest of our lives..." he said as he took her hand in his; removing her glove and began to get down on one knee.

"G...Geo..." Sonia felt frozen in place as she watched him get down and put his hand into his jacket pocket and pulled out a ring as it shined in the post's light.

"This is where we became friends...and now, Sonia...this is where I want to ask you...to be my wife...will you marry me?"

Sonia stood in shock as she tried to absorb everything into her mind; she was literally frozen. Was this really happening? She had to have been dreaming, but then the chill of the air snapped her back to my senses as she looked down at Geo. It wasn't a dream; he really was asking her to be his wife...to marry him.

He stared up at Sonia as she tried to hold back her tears and sobs, her eyes locked into his gaze.

"Sonia..." he rose up so he could be with her on eye level, but as soon as he did, all she could do was cry as he gently pulled her face to his and kissed her passionately and wrapped his arms around her.

Sonia broke their kiss as she pull back enough to face him into his chocolate-colored eyes. There was only one thing she could do, and for some reason, she knew she would never regret saying this.

"Yes, Geo...I'll marry you..." she said and began to wipe away her tears, only for Geo's hand to intervene and wipe them away for her, then clasped her hand in his lightly as he slid the ring onto her finger.

"Merry Christmas, my beautiful songstress..." he pulled her in to his arms once more as he held her close. "I love you so much..."

"I love you too..." she mustered out and silently cried a bit more within their embrace.

* * *

Sonia held Geo close to her as they laid atop his bed and peered out at the skylight and watched the snow gently fall from the night sky and gather upon the window, then melting away with contact.

"Looks beautiful out there, doesn't it?" Sonia asked as she clasped his hand tightly.

"Yeah...but it doesn't compare to you." Geo replied as Sonia giggled at his remark.

"I'm sorry we fought like that, Sonia...I never meant to hurt you; I just wasn't thinking properly and I didn't consider your feelings..." he said as he intertwined their hands more.

"I'm at fault too..." she said resting her head against his chest. "I overreacted, and I just..."

"You don't need to explain." he said as he cupped her face and smiled. "What happened is done, and right now the best thing we can do is think of the future."

The two embraced one another for a bit as a thought creeped into Sonia's head.

"Hey, Geo...I was wondering..."

"Hmm?"

"How did you get my ring? Judging from the way it looks, it must have cost you a lot." she asked as she turned her head up to look at him.

"Well, it DID cost 3000z to clean it up, and another 4000z to add a little something to it. Look on the inside of it." he chuckled lightly.

Sonia slid her ring off and looked on the inside of the band and saw an engraving on it.

 **You are forever my soothing song, as I am your shooting star**

"Geo...you shouldn't have..."

"But I wanted to. To me, you're worth it, Sonia." he smiled as he pecked her lips.

"Mmm..." she said as their lips parted. "Nice try...but you're avoid the question; where did you get the ring?" she asked as she slid it back on her finger before confronting him once more on the ring's origin.

"Mom was more than happy to part with it."

"Th-this is Hope's?" she asked with a bit of shock as she looked down at it.

"The term we're looking for here is WAS...it's yours now. You should have seen her face when I asked for it."

"Well how did you expect her to act? Her only son asking for her ring to marry the girl he loves." she said and looked up at him. "She's just worried about her little boy."

"Yeah...she did kinda spoil me a lot back in the day." he chuckled at the thought. "Moms will be moms, I guess."

Sonia rested her head against Geo's chest and closed her eyes for a bit; taking in every bit of their light embrace until Geo spoke once more.

"Hey...just a thought..." Geo began.

"Hmm?"

"Think your mom would have approved of me?"

"Mama..." Sonia said, recalling her mother and the times they shared before she died, remembering how loving and caring she was. With this in mind, Sonia had her answer. "She would have loved you."

"You think?"

"What's not to like about you? You're caring, charming, thoughtful, selfless..."

"You really think so?" he asked and looked over at her.

"I know so." Sonia said as she rose up and sat on her legs and looked at him. "When Gemini used me like he did, you refused to fight because doing so would have injured me even more...even when I wanted you to finish us, you refused. All you cared about was making sure I was safe. What I said is true, Geo...you ARE all those things. Every single one."

"Sonia..." he said as he slowly propped himself up and looked at her.

"And that's what I love about you..." she said as she leaned in and kissed him passionately; Geo's arms wrapping around Sonia.

Eventually after their small make-out session, Geo broke their kiss as he looked into her eyes. "Sometimes, Sonia...words can't express how much I love you..."

Sonia took her hand and gently placed it on the side of Geo's face as she gazed back at him; her mind wandering off as she searched for the right words to speak to him before finally she spoke.

"Then prove it..." she whispered softly. "They say actions speak louder than words..."

It took Geo a moment to register her words into his head before he responded. He knew what she was asking. "Sonia...are you sure?"

"I am...I want to be with you in every way possible, Geo; mentally and physically...please, I want you to make love to me..."

Geo suddenly found himself in a very surreal position. Sitting in front of him was a girl he had known for the past 8 years, one he had grown to call a friend, and now was the one he loved deeply enough for him to ask for her hand in marriage, and here she was; wanting to give her mind, body and soul to him. He could see it. Her eyes burned with a fiery passion; she wanted to experience the love they had for one another at its highest form possible.

"Are you sure this is something you want, Sonia? I know something like this is usually..." he spoke up, before a feeling of embarrassment impeded his speech. He at least knew this sacred act was normally reserved for those that shared their first night of married life together.

That, and it was kinda embarrassing talking about a mature situation like this. At least to him anyway.

"I know...but I want this more than anything. I want to be one with you." she said and entwined her hand in his; fingers laced together tightly.

Geo brought his head to hers as their foreheads touched and looked into her eyes lovingly. "Sometimes I wonder what I did to deserve you."

"Funny..." she smiled. "I wonder the same about what I did."

Geo said nothing as he moved his head to meet Sonia's delicate lips into his, kissing her tenderly as she sunk into the feeling and kissed back passionately.

On this night, two lovers would become one.

* * *

"It sure is beautiful out tonight..." Lyra said as she gazed up at the night sky, snow gently falling down as it collected upon the roofs of the houses.

"I don't often agree you with, but yeah...it is, isn't it?" Mega replied.

"You do realize this means we'll be stuck to each other like glue now, right?" Lyra asked.

"Yea, I pretty much knew when the kid asked for that ring."

Lyra looked out into the sky as she sighed deeply. "Listen, Mega..."

This tipped the AM-ian off a bit. Was she really not calling him by his actual name for once?

"I...er..." she began to speak, but hesitated. "Nevermind..." she said, resolving to not even pursue the issue. Would it really matter if she even told him?

"You don't need to tell me...I know what's on your mind." he said solemnly. This caused Lyra to panic a little.

"I-I have no clue what you're talking about." she regained her composure; a bit flustered as well.

"You don't think I haven't noticed? I've seen you drift off in thought, your eyes always being focused on me. Not to mention I feel awkward every time I notice you looking at me." he retorted.

"Well excuse me for being in love with you, Omega-Xis!"

Now it was really quiet. Not even glass shattering could have broken the dead silence that was now filling the air between the two.

"I...I just don't know HOW to have feelings for someone..." he said.

"And just why is that? Has fighting been the only thing you've cared about!?"

"It's the only thing I've had since I was born!" he yelled.

Lyra stopped herself from replying as soon as she heard the tone in his voice. She could hear his anger in it, but she also sensed a touch of sadness mixed in.

"As far as I could remember, I've been on my own since the start; I don't have a clue who my parents are or were! I've grown up without anyone caring about me or anything I did. I've been alone since the start!"

He was abruptly struck in the head by a smack from Lyra.

"That is a lie and you know it!" she said as she looked up at him, fighting back her emotions and trying to prevent herself from crying. "You MAY have been alone in the beginning, but don't you even dare act like the past seven years didn't happen! You are not alone anymore...you have Geo, Sonia, everyone else...you have ME! So don't you dare say that you're alone...because we both know that's a big lie." she said as she finally gave up and couldn't hold back her tears any longer.

"Lyra...I..." he sighed as he finally settled out of his outburst and saw what his actions brought about. Everything she said was true; he had Geo and everyone else by his side, but more importantly, he now realized that even with all the constant bickering the two always found themselves in, Lyra always wanted to be there for him.

He moved over as he wrapped his arms around her and held her close to him, causing Lyra to break out of her emotional state as she realized she was firmly in his embrace; she slowly looked up to see his red eyes.

"Thank you, Lyra..."

She just smiled as she rose up to kiss the side of his face gently.

"I love you, Mega..." she whispered quietly.

"This is going to take some getting used to..." he laughed a bit.

Lyra could only smile as she rested in his arms.

* * *

The sun began to beam down into Geo's room as the two lovers rested with one another, basking in the warm light as they held each other close. They had been up for a small while, but refused to break the embrace they had. They just laid there, silent, no words needing to be said as remained entwined with the bed covers.

"That...was so wonderful..." Sonia calmly spoke, being the first to break the silence.

"I know...words just can't describe how I felt last night." Geo replied as he gently took Sonia's hand off his chest and kissed each finger.

"Mmmhmm...you and me both..." Sonia smiled as she kissed Geo deeply as the morning sun began to rise to start the day anew.

Yet neither of them knew of the hell that was about to transpire.

Next Arc: Dark Impetus


	7. Ch7 Dark Impetus, Part 1

Hey everyone, it's BassDS, and we're back as we narrow the gap in this little game of catching up as we enter the 'now' 2nd story arc of Shooting Star Lovers: Dark Impetus. Now granted, while my past neglectfulness caused hardly anything to be uploaded, I didn't fully abandon the story. To me, this arc is quite possibly the biggest high-point in the story, and it hopefully won't be the last. As such, if anything, all those long delays helped me to try and flesh out the plot as much as I could and carefully plan things out so that in the end, it was consistent and and made sense, and ultimately, all around entertaining for you all. Granted I do still have some designs to draw up so I can properly describe a few things and don't shoot myself in the foot on something later on, so I may just do quick drafts of what I want those character designs to look like.

Now that we have that out of the way, it's time to start Dark Impetus; I hope you all enjoy it, because from here, the story arc is going to be a bumpy ride.

* * *

Shooting Star Lovers

Ch.7 Dark Impetus, Part 1 – Impending Storm

Deep within the dark sub-dimension below the Bermuda Maze:

"Uhh...mmm..."

The young girl's eyes slowly opened as she groaned and propped herself up as she looked out into the vast darkness.

"What...happened..."

" **You've been sleeping, my pawn. The time to act is now."** the dark lingering voice spoke out.

"Sleeping?" she murmured before her eyes widened and stood up. "That's right...you don't trust me enough..."

" **I trust you. I just couldn't let you jeopardize all we've set into motion first. Remember, I saved you. I own you."**

"Nobody own me!" she yelled out as she felt herself being consumed by a dark aura.

" **I would advise you not to speak out against me. Otherwise..."**

"Fine..." she groaned as the aura faded and she tried to catch her breathe.

" **I'm glad you see it my way."**

"Alright then..." she groaned, reluctant to submit to the dark being, but the odds weren't exactly in her favor, and she knew that. "What do you need me to do?"

" **Due to your...previous endeavors, one of them has tapped into the potential deep within them, but not completely. He needs to fully tap into his power, as well as the female. She has yet to realize the power within her, just as he is unaware of his. Their power is the key to releasing me."**

"Just how do you know about all this anyway? I at least deserve some answers." she demanded.

" **Remember your place..."** the dark voice commanded. **"Otherwise I will not grant you the vengeance you so desire. Now then, let us move on to the task at hand..."**

* * *

Several days later...

 _The young woman ran through the crowds as people screamed, her dark-pink hair getting in the way of her eyes as she ran, darting around corners and avoiding the maddening mobs as flames began to engulf the buildings, a black water-like mass flooding the streets and walkways as dark figures sprouted up from them and began to attack the fleeing people._

 _She kept running and running as fast as her legs would let her before tripping and falling to the ground, only to feel someone grab a hold of her hand as her eyes looked up and fell upon the brown haired man as he spoke to her, hearing nothing escape his mouth as the black figures rose up around them as she held the man's hand tightly as she could while looking at the dark figures that vastly outnumbered them,_

 _Without warning, one of the figures lunged for the man as he placed himself in front of the woman to protect her from the assault._

"No! DON'T!" Sonia screamed out as she woke up and rose from her and Geo's bed. She felt her heart beating fiercely as she was drenched in sweat as a result from all the feverish tossing and turning.

"What is going on with me?" she asked as she kept the blankets up to her chest as she rubbed her hands over her eyes. "What's with these dreams?"

Sonia felt her hand over on the other side of the bed to see if Geo was still there. She had been having these nightmares for the past several days, sometimes even waking her up in the middle of the night. This in turn would cause Geo to stir from his sleep and comfort Sonia, who at times would break out in tears from how vivid and real they felt. She could literally feel the shock of what would happen in the nightmares run through her body.

"Geo?" she spoke as she felt over and saw his spot empty, before her eyes turned to the clock displayed on her VG Ring as it read 9:18.

"Right...he had to stop in at his teacher's class to turn in his papers..." she sighed as her mind trailed back. Ever since the nightmares, she would try to be at his side whenever possible. Not because the nightmares scared her deeply, however.

What scared her was the man that was attacked in her dreams.

And she had good right to be. He was almost identical to Geo; at least from what she could make out. But she had never told him this; if only to keep him at ease. Sonia didn't want him worrying too much.

Sonia looked over at her VG Ring and was relieved that her screams didn't wake Lyra up. As much as she loved her, she was really in no mood to be comforted. She was already stressed out as it was.

Sonia sighed as she grabbed her robe from the small stand next to the bed and slid it over her body as she got up and moved over to one of the boxes holding some of her clothes as she rummaged through it.

"What I need is a nice, hot shower...that should calm my nerves a bit." she said as she grabbed a few clothes from the box and made her way to the door as she looked over and saw her wedding dress hanging in the closet.

"Maybe I'm just worried about the wedding; I've probably just been over-thinking things a lot lately. If so...this is one hell of a case of pre-wedding jitters." she tried reassuring herself as she made her way to the bathroom as she pressed the hot water button and turned the shower head on as she discarded her robe and nightclothes and let the warm water cascade down atop her as she tried to relieve some of her stress.

"But...why do those nightmares feel so real?" she murmured to herself.

* * *

"Wow...it's still coming down?" Geo said as he stepped outside the doors of the local university and buttoned his jacket up as snow lightly fell to the ground.

"Silly soft stuff, if you ask me." Mega yawned as he looked. "It's bad enough I feel so tired as it is, what with your girl waking me up with her screaming before the sun's even up."

"Hey, take it easy, Mega. You know it's not Sonia's fault. Nightmares are something beyond our control. It's natural." Geo replied as he looked over at Mega.

"Yeah, well I heard what she said; saying she was being chased by some kind of creeps made of ooze. She's had this same nightmare for the past four days, kid. THAT ain't normal, I tell you."

"Look, she's probably just nervous about the wedding. To be honest, I'm freaked out of my mind; that much pressure can affect anyone in different ways." he replied as he walked along the sidewalk.

"You better be right...I don't want this to become a recurring thing you know. It's bad enough I'm going to have to deal with Lyra 24/7 now thanks to you two."

"Oh, is that so?" Geo perked up as he looked toward Mega. "Then what was all the sleep-talking I heard from you not too long ago; if I recall, I kept hearing you say Lyra's name over and over." he smirked as the AM-ian's blue face took on a reddish tint.

"Don't even go there..." Mega said as he gulped heavily.

"Heh... I always knew you had bit of a soft spot in that heart of yours." Geo smiled.

"Just shut up and let's get home..." Mega reluctantly surrendered as he returned to Geo's VG Ring in defeat.

" _But still...Mega's right. Sonia's been having these nightmares for almost a week now...but even though she told me what happened in them, something tells me there's more to these dreams that she's not telling me."_ Geo thought as he made his way back home as the snow began to let up.

* * *

Meanwhile, at WAZA:

Ace sat back in his chair in the command room as he took a sip of his cocoa and sighed peacefully.

"On a cold day like this, this is just what the doctor ordered." he smiled as he relaxed and opened up an air display as he read over the reports written by some of the officers from their daily routines and checks to make sure all was in order.

"Everything seems to check out, Ace. Shall you require I do anything else?" Acid asked as he appeared on the wave screen.

"Double check some of the reports from a few days ago and see if we missed anything by some chance, Acid. Never hurts to be thorough."

"Very well; I'll begin combing the report databanks from the past three days." Acid said as he vanished and went to work.

"Sometimes, it can be pretty boring being the one in charge." Ace sighed as he took another sip of cocoa.

"Daddy..." came a small voice as he look to his side and saw Alexis with her hands on the arm rest as she looked wide-eyed at him. "Can I have some cocoa?"

He smiled as he looked down at his daughter; how could he say no to that face?

"Alright, come here." he said as he picked her up and placed her on his leg. "Careful now, it's hot." he said as he gently moved the mug to her lips and she began to almost gulp it down, despite the heat it gave off.

"Hey, easy there, you're not going leave any..."

"Thanks for the cocoa, daddy!" she giggle as she hopped down and ran out the room.

"Any...for me..." he sighed as he looked at the empty mug. "That girl is a sugar fiend..."

"Well, now I wonder whose fault that is?" came Tia's voice as she came up behind him as he placed the mug down on the desk.

"Don't look at me." he responded.

"This coming from the man who went on a caffeine binge on nothing but Mega Snacks for a whole day?" she retorted as she walked over to him. "She got that from you, you know, so don't even try blaming me. In case you forgot...it takes two to tango." she whispered in his ear gently as she wrapped her arms around him.

"Tia, not while I'm working..."

"Hehehe...I love embarrassing you." she said as she pulled away from him.

"Sometimes you do it a little bit too much, you know?"

"Well, get used to it. 'Til death do us part. Speaking of which, have you decided what you're wearing to the wedding?" she asked.

Before Ace could reply, Jack came dashing up the stairs from the command room's lower level as he made his way over to the two.

"Jack? What is it?" Ace asked as he looked toward his brother-in-law.

"You might want to see this." he said as he made linked his VG Ring up to Ace's monitor and a satellite map of Wilshire Hills was projected on it. "The scanner picked up a faint energy signal that we can't recognize."

"It's not an EM signature?" he asked.

"At first when I saw the data, I thought it was a glitch, but look; there are even more faint signals just like it popping up all over the place, and we can't get a visual on the city because the combined energy of these multiple signatures are completely screwing with the scanner." Jack explained. "I don't know what's going on there, but it can't be good. For all we know, it could be nothing, but with the scanner being thrown out of whack, there's no way to tell."

"That is a problem...we're already stretched thin around here." Ace replied as he pondered the situation.

"Think Geo would be willing to check it out for us?" Jack asked.

"Do we really need to bother him and Sonia with this? Their wedding is just a few days away." Tia added as she looked at Ace.

"We don't have the man power to spare anybody here. I'd have Solo check it out, but it's hard getting a hold of him, and you know how he is. Geo's our best bet right now. "I'll just have to find a way to make it up to him." Ace said as he activated the call function on his VG Ring and began to establish a connection to Geo.

* * *

Sonia was making her way downstairs when she heard the front door open as Geo's calm voice rang out into the house.

"Anyone home?"

"Just me, Geo." she replied as she walked into the foyer as Geo placed his coat on the rack.

"Mom and Dad still out?" he asked as he walked over to her.

Sonia shook her head in response. "No one was here when I woke up."

"Well, Spica Mall DID just finish renovations. Maybe Mom found a few new stores to go to. Kinda makes me feel sorry for Dad." Geo chuckled as he wrapped his arms around Sonia and kissed her tenderly.

"Ahem...you DO realize I'm here too, right?" Mega said with an unamused look on his face as he crossed his arms.

Both of their faces turned red as they broke their kiss and regained their composure from being wrapped up in the moment.

"Way to ruin the moment, Omega-Xis." Lyra scolded as she appeared next to Mega and slapped him in the back of the head.

"The hell was that for?"

Lyra just shot a glare at him and the look in her eyes quickly silenced him as they warped to the EM Hub in the living room.

"A-anyway..." Geo said as he balanced himself back from the slight embarrassment as they made their way over to the couch and sat down. "You feeling okay, Sonia? Didn't have that dream again, did you?"

"No, I slept well, actually. No nightmares whatsoever." she smiled gently at him, but deep down, she was filled with regret. She didn't like lying to Geo, and she didn't want to worry him, especially with the wedding not far off.

"Well, that's a relief." he replied as he gently rubbed her cheek with his thumb. "You're probably just stressing out, you know. Happens to everyone."

"Well..." Sonia softly replied. "What about you? Aren't you nervous about the wedding?"

"To be honest...I feel like a train wreck inside. It's scary not knowing what the future holds." he replied. "But I know that whatever happens, I've got you beside me to get through it." he smiled as he held her hand in his.

"We've been through a lot, haven't we?" she sighed as she laid her head on his shoulder.

"And whatever happens now, we'll go through it together."

"You've changed a lot, Geo..." she replied. "Definitely not the moody boy I first met."

"Well, I have you to thank for that, don't I?" he smiled as he looked down at her. "If you hadn't been so persistent, I probably would have never broken out of my emotional shell."

"You're right." she replied softly as she looked back up at him. "And I never would have been able to know the real Geo." she said as she gently placed her hand against his face. "Let alone think I would ever fall in love."

"Oh please kill me now..." Mega said, earning him a deadly scowl from Lyra.

Time seemed frozen for the two as they gazed into their partner's eyes, only for the silence to be broken by Geo's VG Ring receiving a call.

"Hmm?" Who could that be?" Geo said in wonder as he opened the call up as an air display appeared with Ace and Jack on screen.

"Hope we're not interrupting anything." Jack smiled evilly at the two. "After all, you two are looking pretty cozy there."

"Don't mind him. You know how he is." Ace replied as he looked at Jack.

"Hey Ace, everything going on okay over there?" Geo asked as he sat up.

"That's actually why I'm calling." Ace began. "Look, I know you guys are busy with getting the wedding ready and would like to spend as much time with each other as you can, and this might be nothing to worry about, but we're kind of shorthanded here at the moment and would like you to look into something."

"What's going on?" Sonia asked as she looked at the display.

"We've been picking up a weird energy signal at Wilshire Hills, and not only that, it's looking like there are multiple readings of this thing, but the odd thing is, this isn't an EM signature; it's something else. Problem is, we can't accurately scan this signal because it's been messing with the scanner every time we try to. Basically we're blind as a bat." Jack explained.

"It might not be anything to worry about, but I was hoping you could go to Wilshire Hills and check it out just to be on the safe side." Ace added. "I would ask Solo...but you know how difficult he is AND how it is to get a hold of him."

"Isn't that an understatement." Geo replied. "Sure, I'll check it out for you."

"Thanks." Ace said as he put his hands together. "I promise I'll make this up to you."

"Don't worry about it." Geo replied as he ended the call and got up off the couch.

"I hope it's not too cold out..." Sonia said as she looked outside and saw it starting to snow again.

"Well, Ace said there was a chance that it was probably nothing to worry about, so why don't I just go?" Geo said as he grabbed his coat and slid it on. "No sense in us both going.

"Are you sure you don't want me coming along, Geo?"

"I'll be fine." he said as he walked over to her. "I won't be gone long." he replied as he kissed her gently before turning to the hub. "Ready to go Mega?"

"Ugh...and just when I was getting warm too." he said as he reluctantly entered Geo's VG Ring as Lyra appeared beside Sonia.

Geo walked out the door as his hand touched his VG Ring and he transformed into Mega Man and walked over to the wave road ramp as Sonia's voiced stopped him.

"Geo, even if it is nothing...be careful, OK?" she said with a tone of worry in her voice.

He nodded back at her as he made his way up the ramp and dashed along the wave road.

Lyra watched as they dashed away before her attention turned to Sonia, a look of worry on her face.

"He'll be fine, dear. You know he will." she assured Sonia as she placed her hand on her shoulder.

"I know, Lyra...but something in my heart is telling me otherwise." she solemn replied as she thought back to the visions of her nightmares. "I just hope its wrong."

* * *

At Wilshire Hills:

High atop IFL Tower, a dark portal formed as the cloaked woman emerged and walked over to the edge and watched all the unsuspecting people going about their day, oblivious to the events that was about to unfold.

She looked down at them as her mind trailed back to the orders that she was given by the mysterious entity.

~Flashback: not too long ago~

" _ **My seal must be broken, and for that to happen, the power that locked me away must release me; the very same power coursing through their souls. Only then once I am free and have taken their power for my own, will you be able to exact your petty revenge."**_

" _And what am I to do, exactly?" she questioned him._

" _ **Capture and bring them to me. Their power still sleeps within, but this can be used to my advantage; I intend to use the energy they give off in the process of awakening their true selves to release me from my realm...and once I am free, I will rip that power from their bodies until they fade away into nothingness..."**_

" _Just what is this 'power'? I at least deserve some answers if I'm going through all this trouble." she barked back at the dark entity._

" _ **The Lights of Aegis..."**_

~End Flashback~

"I don't know what these 'Lights' are, and I really don't care. As long as I get my hands on Solo, I'll do whatever he wants." she said as her right eye began to glow and several more portals formed on the ground behind her; black mass began to rise up from them and started to take shape into almost human-like form, their long arms tipped with sharp points at the end instead of hands as they formed one after the other.

"Now then...let's try and flush out the prey, shall we?" she smirked as the glowing in her eye faded.

" _Just you wait, Solo...soon you'll know what death feels like: the same cold feeling I felt because of you, you damn murderer..."_


	8. Ch8 Dark Impetus, Part 2

Welcome back everyone, BassDS here bringing you the next chapter, and FINALLY we're done with catching up the story to where it was before the restart. Took a while, but we made it.

And for sticking up with the re-uploads, I decided to give you all a small treat and I made the choice to incorporate what I had written for Chapter 9; which to be honest, it was VERY small, like only 7 pages, here into this chapter, especially considering it was just a continuation of where the original Chapter 8 upload left off, so I figured it would be better to play that encounter out this was than leaving it on a cliffhanger like I did before; that way the story flowed a bit more smoothly.

Regardless, I hope you all enjoy the chapter and eagerly await the next one, and I promise, you WON'T be waiting an eternity for a new upload; if anything, I'll consider smaller updates to keep things in check. But until, enjoy the chapter, everyone.

* * *

Shooting Star Lovers

Ch.8 Dark Impetus, Part 2 – Darkest Hour, Part 1

* * *

"So...where do we start?" Mega asked as he appeared beside Geo as they landed on one of the many buildings that made up Wilshire Hills.

"Well, first things first," Mega Man replied as he move his hand to the side of his helmet and began to scan the area through his visor. "We need to see if we can pick up any sort of energy signal. Ace said from what they could tell, it wasn't an EM signature. So at this point, anything I pick up is worth looking into."

"Well, let's just hope this isn't going to turn into a big waste of time." Mega added.

"Nothing wrong with helping out once in a while when someone asks you." Mega Man laughed a bit as he dashed onto the wave road and continued to scan around.

"Yeah well, sometimes I just don't like having to stick my neck out for..." Mega said as he abruptly stopped. "Hey, you feel that?"

"Sure do...looks like we're getting something."

"Listen, kid...I don't say this often, but we should probably book it. This energy I'm feeling is giving me some bad vibes."

Mega Man paused for a moment. Usually Mega was always keen to go all out, but to hear him WANT to avoid a confrontation with whatever was giving this energy off was somewhat shocking.

Before he could reply, cries ran out as he looked down and saw the people below fleeing in a panic as dark voids opened up in the ground and out came the dark figures, joining the ones that were already terrorizing everyone.

"What the heck are those things?" Mega asked.

"Don't know, and don't really care. All that matters is that we smash them."

"Run in guns blazing and ask questions later, huh? Think I'm finally starting to rub off on you. Took long enough." Mega grinned slightly.

"You wish." Mega Man replied as he jumped down and landed into the streets at people ran past him and cleared the area as the dark figures lurked closer and closer.

"Whatever you things are, why don't you crawl back from where you came from!" he cried out as he formed his Mega Buster and fired at the figures, blowing clear holes into them, only for their bodies to fill in the gap.

"Well...so much for that." Mega gulped.

Mega Man looked up as two jumped up and lunged at him with their bladed arms as he dodge out of the way to compose himself.

"Battle Card: Sword! Swordfighter 3!" he called out as two swords formed on his arms and he dashed towards the figures as his blades clashed with their arms, forcing their attacks away and making an opening for him to strike away, cleaving their bodies in half as the tops fell to the ground.

"Nice shot!" Mega exclaimed.

Before he could commend his friend more, the bottom halves sprouted the missing top half from their bodies, with the top parts that were cut off repeating the same with their lower halves.

"Well so much for that...just what the hell are these things? Nothing is working at all, not even the Mega Buster did much against them."

"Well what do you expect? The Shadow Specters are just beings of darkness; created by rage, hatred and despair. Your attempts at harming them are futile." a voice called out as Mega Man looked around.

"Who's there!?"

"Geo, dodge!" Mega cried as they looked behind them to see a sphere of dark energy dash at them, giving them enough time to hit the ground as it passed them up and hit the side of one of the building, completely removing a chunk of the side clean off.

"Ngh...thanks for the heads up." Mega Man replied as he rose up and looked around, more of the dark figures surrounding him. "Who are you!?"

"Geo, above us!"

Mega Man looked up as his eyes scanned all the way up IFL Tower to the very tip as he saw a cloaked figure standing atop the tower.

"Careful kid...I think that blast came from Cloaky up there." Mega retorted.

The cloaked figure quickly vanished from atop the tower and just a quickly appeared before them as they turned to face the figure.

"Nothing you do can harm the Shadow Specters, therefore, anything you do from this point on is meaningless." The figure replied.

"Shadow Specters...?" Mega Man softly said as he looked around at the dark beings that surrounded him.

"Yes. They are nothing like the viruses that exist in your every-day life, so your weapons and attacks will do nothing to them. Now then...it seems we're one person short at this little gathering. Where is she?"

"She?" Mega Man said as he looked on at the figure.

"Don't play dumb with me... you know who I'm talking about; the girl that you so desperately fought to keep safe from Gemini."

"Sonia..." Mega Man's eyes widen as he thought back to the events that happened at Stardust Speedway before he finally pieced things together. "Wait, how do you know about Gemini?" he demanded.

"I was the one that revived the fool. A pity he proved to be traitorous in the end; but he did at least make some progress."

"I was wondering how that psycho managed to come back to life...but what I'm wondering is how you even know about him." Mega added.

"Like I have to explain myself. Last I checked, I wasn't obligated to...now quit avoiding the question. Where is she?" the figure's voice boomed.

"I'm not going to let you get near her at all! Sonia went through so much pain because of Gemini; because you revived him. She almost died because of you!" Mega Man seethed in anger.

"I can assure you, she wouldn't have. I could have easily ended Gemini without any issue if he ended up doing more harm than good to the plan. She IS, after all, essential to all this, as are you."

"PLAN THIS!" he cried out as he lunged toward the figure, only to quickly get grabbed around the neck and slammed into the ground.

"Don't test me. I have my own little agenda to see to once I've dealt with you two, and I'm so close to it, so I'm REALLY not in the mood for your pointless struggle."

Mega Man rose back up as he began to find himself surrounded by more Shadow Specters as they encircled around him.

"This isn't going much in our favor, is it?" Mega asked.

"That's a BIG understatement, don't you think?"

* * *

At WAZA:

Ace sat back in his chair, his hand gripping the one of its arms as the last of the Satella Police officers left the building to make their way towards Wilshire Hills, responding to the numerous call-ins of attacks.

"I wish I knew just what the hell we're up against here..." Ace sighed as he looked at a few of the screens in the command room, still showing nothing but static. "Any luck, Doc?"

"None, I'm afraid. Whatever this energy surge is that's preventing us from seeing what's happening, is totally abnormal." Goodall replied.

"And on top of that, we can't even reach Geo right now." Jack groaned. "Man, if this is a random act of bad timing, this is the worst I've seen."

"No...this can't just be an isolated random act...something's happening out there, and I have a bad feeling things are only going to get worse..."

"I just pray that you're wrong, Arthur." Goodall responded solemnly.

"Jack..." Ace spoke up.

"Yeah?"

"I need you to try and get a hold of Solo; I don't care if you have to constantly call over and over until he's had enough and picks up." Ace said as he stood up and headed towards the elevator. "You feeling up for this, Acid?" he asked as he looked at his Wizard.

"If you feel this is the course of action that needs to be taken, then yes." Acid simply replied.

"Ace, where you going?" Jack asked him as he turned his head.

"I know I'm suppose to stay here and follow the regulations as chief, but if you ask me, with all the stuff that happened at Stardust Speedway and now this, I'd say following the regulations just got tossed out the window. For all we know, Geo probably ran into those black figures that the emergency calls have been describing, and he probably needs all the help he can get. Just do me a favor and don't tell Tia I'm leaving. I don't want her to worry too much." he finished as the elevator door closed behind him.

"If he's this worried...it must be serious..." Jack muttered to himself.

* * *

Sonia sat in the living room as she curled up on the couch, the TV playing before her, but her mind was elsewhere. She couldn't shake this deep feeling in her stomach that something was wrong, and Lyra sensed this.

"Sonia?"

"Hmm...wha?" Sonia muttered as she snapped back into reality. "Sorry Lyra, I kind of spaced out there a bit." she said as her friend materialized on the couch next to her.

"More like half a dozen times. What's bothering you, dear?" she asked as she placed her hand on her shoulder. "Is it about Geo being out there and not knowing what he could run into?"

Sonia sighed as she caved in. She couldn't keep this locked up inside of her.

"Promise you won't tell Geo?"

The humanoid FM-ian Wizard nodded softly.

"It does a little, yes...but that's not what I'm worried about." she replied as she brought her legs up to her chest. "I've been having these weird dreams, and they seem so real. People running for their lives, many being attacked by these weird black figures..."

"Sounds like just a nightmare to me. Maybe the pressure of the wedding is just getting to you."

"It's more than that, Lyra. I've had these dreams for days on end, and it always ends the same way..." she said he her voice began to tremble slightly. "I see a boy and a girl being attacked by those things; and before everything fades to black completely, I can see their faces...the boy has Geo's, and I can clearly see mind on the girl's. The hair, the eyes; they all match ours, and scares the hell out of me."

"Why didn't you tell me or Geo sooner if this was bothering you that much?" Lyra asked subtly.

"The first night, I wrote it off as a nightmare, but having the same scene playing over and over like that...I just didn't want to trouble anyone, and then when it began happening again, I just...I became scared, because it felt just so real; like I experienced it before."

"Sonia, I'm your friend; you know you can always come to me with anything. I wouldn't feel troubled at all, and I'm certain Geo wouldn't either. You know how much he cares about you." Lyra replied.

"Thanks, Lyra..." Sonia replied as she lookedover at her friend and smiled. She was just about to speak as a call came in on her VG Ring.

"Oh, perhaps Geo's checking in on you." Lyra said as she re-entered the VG Ring as Sonia opened the display to see Jack.

"Jack? What is it?" Sonia asked puzzled, wondering why he'd be calling her.

"Listen Sonia, I don't have much time and we could really use your help. We're getting reports about Wilshire Hills being under attack by swarms of these weird black figures."

" _Black figures..."_ Sonia thought for a moment as a shock went through her body, the fear of the visions in her dreams setting in again.

"Hey, something wrong? You look like you've just seen a ghost."

"I...I'm fine." she lied. "What more do you know? Is Geo okay?" she said, trying to hide the sense of panic in her voice.

"We don't have a visual on what's going on down there, but I'm certain Geo's back is probably against the wall. You might want to head on down there. Ace is already on his way, and I'm trying to get a hold of Solo. I figured I'd let you know and see if you wouldn't mind helping."

"Yes...of course..." she nodded. "I'm on my way." she said as the call ended.

"Sonia?"

"Geo..." she spoke his name softly as she gripped her heart pendant.

"Dear, are you okay?" Lyra asked.

"We need to go! Come on, Lyra." Sonia said as she transformed into Harp Note and phased through the house as she jumped onto the wave road and dashed towards Wilshire Hills.

"Please be OK, Geo...please, just be OK."

* * *

At Wilshire Hills:

"I'm growing tired of this game of hide and seek..." The cloaked figure spoke out as she searched through the rubble, the Shadow Specters following behind.

"We're getting nowhere here, Mega..." Mega Man whispered quietly as he hid behind some building debris from a wall that had been destroyed.

"You're telling me...for once, I don't think going buck wild is going to help us this time." Mega replied.

"Found you." the figure's voice creeped up behind them as the debris was blasted away and sent Mega Man flying out into the streets and lodged into a building wall.

"Very well...if you won't tell me where she is, then I'll just bring you to my master for now and find her myself."

"Your master?" Mega Man groaned as he phased out of the wall and tried to escape, only for the figure to instantly be enveloped in a black aura and warp in front of him to prevent him from getting away.

"You're being very troublesome, you know that?" she said as she held a hand out to his face and blasted him head first with a burst of darkness, flinging him back into the ground. "Yes...you are of no value to me, but to my master, you and her are vital to him." she added as she walked toward the downed hero.

"Ngh...this isn't good..." Mega Man said as he looked up and saw the figure approaching.

"Now then...let's go, shall we?" she said as she reached her hand out to touch him, before sensing an approaching threat near her.

"Why don't you back off, you cloaked freak! Vanishing Rogue Break!"

She dodged out of harm's way as a surge of energy broke her away from Mega Man and she moved back. "Grr...who did that?" she looked around before her eyes settled back on Mega Man, but her view of him was compromised by the sword-wielding warrior in black.

"Ngh...Rogue..." Mega Man looked on.

"I was wondering what all the commotion was all about. Figures I'd find you here. I really detest saving your skin, you know."

"Now's not the time for that." Mega Man said he struggled to his feet. "We need to take care of her."

"Fool. You're in no condition to do anything, so why don't you sit this one out?" he said as he walked forward towards the cloaked figure. "Sorry." he said as he pointed the Destructix towards her "But I can't have you taking him. He and I have a score to settle, and I'll be damned if you deprive me of the battle I crave with him."

Her eyes darted down and saw the Mu insignia adorned on his chest, smirking lightly as she stood there. "Well good, since you're in the way, I can have my revenge now since you seem intent on standing in my way."

"Revenge? I don't even know you. Just who the hell are you?" Rogue said as he looked at the cloaked figure.

"Hehehe...normally I'd be hurt by hearing that, but after what you did to me, it doesn't even compare."

"Just shut up with your nonsense already!" he cried out as he lunged toward her and raised the Destructix and over his head and brought it down towards her, only for it to be blocked by a dark barrier, the resulting power being too much for the Destructix to normally absorbed as it threw Rogue back away from her.

"Did you see that? He just got tossed around like a rag doll." Mega exclaimed as he watched on.

"I've waited a long time for this, Solo...too long." she said as she walked towards him.

"Ho...how do you know my name?" he asked; his eyes widening a bit as he used the Destructix to prop himself up back to his feet as he looked at the cloaked figure.

The cloaked figure raised her hand to pull the hood atop her head back, her hair now free as her eyes stared into his, piercing through him as Rogue tried to process what was in front of him.

"I've been looking forward to this..." she smirked gently.

"It...it can't be..." Rogue's voice shook as he looked at the young woman in front of him.

"Remember me now?" she responded.

"...Seira..."

Her stare was completely cold as her eyes remained trained on him, and for the first time in his life, Rogue was unable to process what was before him.

"Don't think I haven't forgotten what you did, you bastard..." Seira said as she clenched her teeth. "You left me to die so you could save yourself."

"What are you talking about? Don't you remember what happened!?" he exclaimed.

"Enough talking; you know damn well what happened. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a mission to fulfill and if you intend to get in my way...hehehe...well then, it just means I get to have some fun with my job." Seira said with a bit of joy in her voice as she reached behind her and pulled out a Murian Star Carrier and held it out as the ancient rune of Mu appeared all around her, spinning wildly as her body became enveloped in a bright light.

"Just who is she?" Mega Man asked himself as the light blinded him before it slowly died down and the womanly figure walked out from the light.

The EM suit clung to her body as the Mu insignia rested atop her chest, round shoulder pads connected to the piece of armor on her back as well as the collar, being similar to Rogue, but the similarities stopped there. Her legs lacked the bulky armor and went with a more slimmer design; both of her hands glowed a bright white in contrast to the purple tint of Rogue's, and finally the EM suit had two equally glowing white stripes going down the side of her body, meshing in with the violet of her suit, while two round headpieces covered her ears and wrapped around the back of her head keeping it in place, her visor connected to both pieces as the top of the headpieces were adorned with the pointed ends of the visor sticking out.

"You can call me Aether for now." she grinned before warping over to Rogue and slamming one of her fists into his stomach, forcing him over in pain as she jumped and kicked him in the side of the head, sending him flying into a building wall.

"That was a manhandling..." Mega said, almost speechless as the sight before him.

"But only because Rogue isn't fighting back...but why?" Mega Man wondered as he looked on.

"Really?" Aether said as she closed her eyes to crack her neck a bit. "I KNOW you're capable of so much more, Solo." her eyes returned to Rogue as she walked over to him.

"I don't...ngh...want to fight you..." Rogue mustered a bit as he coughed up some blood.

"A shame I don't share the same sentiment." she said as she kicked his ribs hard, sending him straight through the wall.

"GAHH!" Rogue cried out as he felt pain ring throughout his body from the torment he was being dealt.

"Oh? It looks like you dropped something~..." Aether chuckled a bit as she reached down to grab Rogue's Destructix that had been knocked from his grip from the previous two assaults and then proceeded to walk over to him.

"Seira...this isn't you..." Rogue said as he struggled to get to his knees.

"Oh, but this IS the real me, Solo..." she said coyly before kicking him back down. "Just the side of me that took you leaving me to die to finally wake up. I hoped you'd give me more of a challenge so I could savor this moment...what a disappointment." she added as she rested Destructix on her shoulder.

"I didn't leave you to die!" Rogue cried out through the pain and blood. "I'm only alive because of you!"

"I've had enough of your lies, Solo...and I've had enough of YOU!" Aether cried out as she swung Destructix toward Rogue, only for another blade to clash against it.

"You..." Rogue looked up as Mega Man held the blade back with his own, quickly darting up as Aether was forced to give her grip up on it as the sword quickly formed into the Mega Buster and had several blasts fired at her as Mega Man grabbed Destructix before going over to Rogue and lifted him up as he held one of Rogue's arms over his back.

"Don't get in my way! I'll deal with you once he stops breathing!" Aether growled fiercely.

"Sorry, but as much as Rogue and I don't really see eye-to-eye with each other, I'm not going to sit by and let you senselessly kill him without so much of a reason."

"You don't know anything!" Aether yelled.

"You're right, maybe I don't. I'll admit, he can be ruthless; and I know that better than anyone. But for him to not fight back against you tells me he's not capable of doing to you what you say he did." Mega Man replied.

"Just...shut up..." Rogue said weakly. "Stay out of this..."

"For once, we actually agree on something, Solo. Now if you won't stay out of our little payback session, I'll gladly rough you up a bit to get you ready for later!" she lunged at the two warriors as she sent out several EM Fists toward them.

"Battle Card: FoxFu3!"

Smoke filled the area as Aether's blows made contact, and when the dust cleared, laying before her were dummies of Mega Man and Rogue before they reverted back into the FoXFu virus and laughed before vanishing.

"GRRRAHHH!" Aether screamed out at the top of her lungs, totally infuriated that she had left Rogue slip from her fingers. "Hide all you want! I'll find you eventually!" she proclaimed as several Shadow Specters appeared around her and began to spread out to begin the search.

* * *

"Here. Just sit back and get some rest." Mega Man said as he propped the now de-transformed Solo against the wall of the building they had taken refuge in.

"I don't recall asking...for you help..." he coughed a bit. "Ugh...damn, I think she broke a rib..."

"Asking for my help? If I hadn't jumped in, a broken rib would be the least of your worries; you would have died, Solo!"

"Just take her advice and stay out of this..." Solo retorted.

"Like I can. After she's done with you, I'm next on her list, and so is Sonia, and I don't have a damn clue why. So whether you like it or not, I'm in this for the long run, so start talking: who is she?"

Solo reached out and weakly grasped his hand around Mega Man's neck as he did his best to pull him close to him.

"You want to know why...I hate those bonds of yours; bonds in general?" he coughed weakly as he spit some blood out off to the side. "It's because of her; the only friend I ever had in this world, and for the past twelve years, I thought she was dead. I thought our bond was what cost Seira her life, and I hated myself for it."

"Solo..."

"You know the rest. I wandered alone for years, and was tormented because of my appearance, and that's what's made me who I am today; all because I couldn't help her." he groaned as he pushed Mega Man away.

"What happened?" he asked as he placed his hand on Solo's shoulder.

"You don't need to know; that's my own business. I've filled you in on the small details, and that's all you're getting out of me." Solo replied as she shrugged the hand off and weakly rose back to his feet.

"Stubborn like a mule as always..." Mega groaned.

"Listen, I can probably help you with her. I think she's being controlled."

"What are you blabbing about?" Solo asked.

"When we were fighting her, she mentioned something about her 'master'. I don't really know fully what's going on, but it's obvious she's just being used as a tool, and whoevers behind this is probably filling her head with lies and false promises. Ring any bells? Vega pulled the same exact thing on you."

"Don't remind me of that 'false queen'..." Solo paused for a moment. "Okay, let's say your hunch is right, and she is being controlled; what do we do?"

"For starters..." Mega Man sighed a bit. "We get the hell away from those things." he finished, pointing behind Solo as a group of Shadow Specters formed before then and readied to attack.

"Just my luck..." Solo said as he wiped the blood away from his mouth.

* * *

"Oh my…this place is horrible..." Lyra muttered as Harp Note arrived at Wilshire Hills to see all the destruction that had been left behind.

"I was told everyone evacuated, so I don't think we'll run into any civilians here...but where could Geo be? I hope he's not hurt..." Harp Note looked around worryingly.

"I'll admit, I DID rough him up a little bit, but I'm sure he's fine for now while he hides." came a voice that didn't sound familiar to Harp Note as she turned around to see Aether sitting on a lamppost as she grinned down at her. "Granted I may have to do the same for you, if you refuse to come along quietly." she smirked as she jumped down and several Shadow Specters circled around Harp Note.

" _It...it's the creatures from my nightmares..."_ Harp Note thought to herself as she tried to shrug the feeling of fear off her as she focused on the woman in front of her. "What is going on here? Who are you!?" Harp Note demanded.

"And with your arrival, all the pieces are gathered in one place...granted it seems your 'Geo' is busy playing Hide and Seek from me with Solo. Luckily, they're being snuffed out as we speak. And as for your request...you may call me Aether in this form...because let's be honest, I doubt you'll be alive long enough for us to get to know one another on a personal basis."

"Sonia; the mark on her chest...it's..." Lyra started to say.

"The Mu insignia..." she muttered before she focused her attention back to Aether. "You're a Murian?"

"Not like it matters to you. Now then, let's get back to business...my master is patiently awaiting your arrival, so how about me and you go find your little boyfriend, and we go to him together...even if it means dragging your unconscious bodies back." Aether grinned.

"I'm not going anywhere with you! Shock Note Pulse!" Harp Note strummed hard on her guitar as the soundwaves spread out to hit the Shadow Specters, cutting them in half, but the effort was in vain, as the Specters reformed with ease.

"I don't like the looks of this, dear..." Lyra stated as they looked on as the Shadow Specters inched closer to them.

"Nothing you do will harm them, so trying to fight back is pointless. But if you want to make this harder on yourself, be my guest." Aether smirked.

"Gladly." Harp Note replied as she warped around behind Aether and aimed her guitar at her. "Machine Gun String!" EM Strings wrapped around Aether as musical note ran down the strings and struck head on, dealing a good amount of damage.

"Alright then..." Aether growled as she broke free from the strings. "Looks like you and your little boyfriend like doing things the hard way. Fine by me!"

"For the record, he's NOT my boyfriend..." Harp Note stated as she warped back toward Aether as the Shadow Specters attempted to sneak up behind her as she eluded their assault before kicking Aether's legs to knock her off balance as she hit the ground.

"He's my fiancé!"

* * *

"These things are really starting to get on my nerves!" Mega Man said as he blasted Specter after Specter and he and a struggling Solo made their way down the stairs of the fire escape.

"I second that notion, kid!" Mega agreed as they reached the end and tried to get as far away as they could.

"Running won't do us any good. Let's just stay and fight..." Solo ordered as he gripped the Destructix in his hand, but the searing pain in his ribs forced him to his knees as he grabbed his side. "Damn it all."

"Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that won't exactly help us. Nothing works on these things...I honestly don't know what to do at this point." Mega Man begrudgingly admitted and contemplated the situation as more Shadow Specters rose from the black pools and swarmed around them.

Soon, the sound of glass shattering echoed in the air as the large elevator that connected Hills Blvd. To the main area of Wilshire Hills had its glass paneling broken as Harp Note and Aether crashed down from above as the dust cleared and Harp Note exited the remains of the elevator as quick as she could.

"Sonia!? Why are you here?" Mega Man asked as his eyes landed on the pink warrior as she turned to face him upon hearing his voice.

"Geo!" Harp Note smiled as she ran over and hugged him tightly. "I'm so glad you're alright. I was so worried."

"What are you even doing here?"

"Jack got a hold of me when they lost contact with you, and after hearing that, I just couldn't stay at home and do nothing." she replied. _"Plus when Jack mentioned those black figures...there was no way I could leave you alone out here..."_

"I'll admit; my patience is really starting to wear thin with all this, but it seems everyone is in attendance now." Aether said as she walked out from the elevator wreckage and dusted herself off. "You put up a pretty good fight." she eyed Harp Note as she looked over at them.

"She packs quite a punch...it was a struggle just to barely keep up with her." Harp Note panted a bit as she tried to catch her breath.

"Tell me about it." replied Mega Man as Aether moved closer to them.

"Out of my way..." Solo ordered as he pushed Mega Man off to the side and struggled to walk towards her, using Destructix as a crutch against the ground. "Seira...listen to me, this isn't you..."

"Seira?" Harp Note muttered softly.

"Let's just say its a long story Solo isn't willing to share. I couldn't get a whole lot out of him on the subject." Mega Man quietly replied.

"Shut up!" Aether cried out as dark ripples of energy shot out around her, the resulting force sending Solo right back into the ground.

"Solo!" Mega Man attempted to move towards him, but Solo's hand motioned for him to stop.

"Stay out of this! This...is my fight..." he said as blood began to drop down the side of his face.

"Stubborn idiot is going to get himself killed at this rate." Mega said.

"I don't often agree with Omega-Xis, but he's right about this." Lyra added.

"I'm tired of hearing your voice...your existence sickens me, just knowing you left me to die so you could save yourself..." she uttered through her clenched teeth as a small tear streamed down her face.

"Seira..."

"Just SHUT UP!" Aether quickly dashed over towards him before her fist connected with his stomach as pain from the blow combined with the pain from his broken rib caused Solo to pass out as his limp body fell to the ground.

"Solo!"

"I'll finish you later...right now, I have something else to take care of." she said as she looked back over towards Mega Man and Harp Note before walking closer to them.

"Well...better brace ourselves. Things are about to get bumpy." Harp Note said as she readied herself to attack.

"Sorry...but I'm sick of playing games now." Aether said as she quickly composed herself as a smile flashed on her face.

Out of nowhere, two Shadow Specters appeared behind the pair and transformed into large orbs as they quickly enveloped the two.

"Geo!"

"Sonia!" Mega Man cried as he looked on as Harp Note was consumed by the mass as he struggled to break free, but eventually succumbed to the prison he was encased in, the orbs shifting for a while until a small light came out from both of them and spit both Omega-Xis and Lyra out from within.

"I think we're done here." Aether said as she opened a portal up and the orbs floated inside. Before she walked in, Aether turned to see the unconscious Solo one more time.

"We'll finish this soon, Solo...and when we do, I promise I'll leave nothing left of you when we do finally meet for the last time." she stated as she walked through the portal as it closed behind her.


	9. -INTERLUDE- Dark Impetus

_"Regardless, I hope you all enjoy the chapter and eagerly await the next one, and I promise, you WON'T be waiting an eternity for a new upload."_

\- BassDS, January 8th, 2017

...

And then saying it won't be an eternity until the next upload ends up turning into a good year and a half.

Hey everyone, BassDS here; LONG time no update, right?

So for those that still have some interest in Shooting Star Lovers, you more than likely want to strangle me, put my feet in cement and then toss me into the nearest body of water to sleep with the fishes. I can understand that entitlement, but hear me out first.

The plan for updating Shooting Star Lover with smaller updates WAS going to happen; however something did end up coming up after I made the last update; and that ended up being the starting of my Let's Play channel; which believe me, the beginning of 2017 until around October, I was honestly enjoying myself. I had started Kingdom Hearts Unchained X as it was called back then; since renamed Union Cross; and I'm still nowhere CLOSE to being caught up story-wise for the Let's Play, but that should be changing soon; I covered ALL of the 2D Sega Genesis Sonic titles in a summer marathon, also including Sonic CD, Knuckles Chaotix; though there WAS bit of an issue that happened during the recordings for that game, and both episodes of Sonic 4. The rest of 2017 I had planned on being fully caught up with Unchained X, and that was in progress...until I got sick, and by the time I was better, it was time for the holiday rush at my job...in which we got SO SLAMMED, I had to work 20 days straight. 2017 may have started good, but it didn't end the way I wanted.

During the issues I had with Knuckles Chaotix, I did write; it just wasn't for Shooting Star Lovers, it was for RWBY, because I had an idea simmering for my main pairing from that series, and I just needed to blow some steam and stress off from the issues I had recording at that point.

Wish I could say 2018 has been better, but I'd be lying. Start one game up; then find out it's getting an update, new mode and 2 additional characters...and then taking down everything I had uploaded for the game at that point, uploads were vary spaced out...and I ended up getting sick coming back from attending the Pokemon VGC regionals. That'll happen when you attend the event all day, then make the 5 hour drive back home until 2 in the morning, and trying to get some sleep at a rest stop without having the heater in the car on in 20 degree weather.

Needless to say; I was a dumbass.

There were a few times when I would think to myself when I was bored with nothing to do...the thought to write would cross my mind; Shooting Star Lovers would be the first thing. But then I'd think; 'I've treated this story so poorly; the restart, inconsistent updates, and more importantly; I treated you all poorly by not updating, or giving any reason as to why I was not updating. Was I really entitled to continue the story; did I even have the right after everything?' Then I thought would anyone even care if i just straight up canned it.

That stayed with me for a good while. And I've pondered over it. I've had some more ideas for arcs come into mind that will happen after this one; granted I still don't know HOW I want to proceed with the story after this arc; but I have a few ideas in mind. So I will say, while this 'VERY SMALL' interlude may not be much; I want to show you all that Shooting Star Lovers is still in my mind; and hey, things are looking up for the Mega Man series in general with Mega Man 11 on the horizon, so maybe if the Blue Bomber can rise up from the ashes after being dormant for so long...then maybe I can too.

So without further ado, and to get those of you that still love this story with a passion a shot of adrenaline for the TRUE next chapter, I hope you all enjoy this small interlude...because it's time to start shedding some light on a few things...

...

Sheesh, this monologue explanation is LONGER than the interlude itself...

* * *

Shooting Star Lovers

Ch.8.5 Dark Impetus, -INTERLUDE-

* * *

 _The young woman ran through the crowds as people screamed, her dark-pink hair getting in the way of her eyes as she ran, darting around corners and avoiding the maddening mobs as flames began to engulf the buildings, a black water-like mass flooding the streets and walkways as dark figures sprouted up from them and began to attack the fleeing people._

 _She kept running and running as fast as her legs would let her before tripping and falling to the ground, only to feel someone grab a hold of her hand as her eyes looked up and fell upon the brown haired man as he spoke to her._

" _Aria, are you alright!?" he asked as he helped back on her feet._

" _Terra, it's horrible out here...it's awful..." Aria's voice trembled._

 _Soon, the black figures rose up around them as she held the man's hand tightly as she could while looking at the dark figures that vastly outnumbered them, Without warning, one of the figures lunged for them as Terra placed himself in front of Aria to protect her from the assault._

" _You...WILL NOT HARM HER!" he cried out as a bright light surrounded his body and he released it all around the two of them; the light advancing out away from them, destroying the black figures and drying up the black mass that had surrounded them and the figures._

" _Terra!" Aria cried out as her hand remained clasped with his, Terra kneeling down to the ground, exhausted from the expenditure of energy. "You know we haven't mastered this yet! That was too risky for you to do." she exclaimed with a worried look on her face, Terra's brown eyes looking up at hers._

" _I'll do anything to protect you..I promised, didn't I?" he smiled weakly as he rose to his feet. "But I'll admit; things aren't going too well...ngh...if only we had more time before the seal broke..."_

" _Let us retreat and find Lady Ena for now..." Aria spoke before she could see the black mass flooding more of the pathways and back alleys surrounding the buildings; hearing the cries of many people as they were swallowed beneath it; the cries completely freezing Aria to her core."No...no..."_

" _Aria...there's nothing we can do for them now...let's go..." Terra replied as he tried walking away from the approaching mass; but Aria stood there frozen in fear as she held onto his hand. "Aria! Come on!"_

 _She said nothing for a moment as she looked on at the destruction that played out before her; it all could have been avoided; she had thought ever since the ordeal began...but now…_

" _Have we…have we failed; or just destined to fail from the start…?" she asked; a fearful tone in her voice._

* * *

Harp Note gasped out as her eyes opened up in fear; the nightmare having waken her from her involuntary slumber; her eyes wandering the vast emptiness of the black space and purple mist filling the area; she attempted to move, before finding her wrists and ankles bound by glowing bands as she was suspended in the air; not sure if a floor existed beneath her or not.

Her eyes wandered more until she saw another figure in the mist; almost hard to make out at first until her visibility improved, and in the same position as her on the other side was Mega Man.

"Geo!"


	10. Ch9 Dark Impetus, Part 3

Hey everyone, BassDS here once more, and luckily you didn't have to wait long for the next chapter; as small as that interlude was, I'm glad that it showed that there are still some people out here that are still invested in this story.

Going forward, I think I might try and stick with smaller uploads very similar to this one; it'll let me HOPEFULLY make uploads more frequent, and give me more time to do my other various projects. Though I will say, after this arc concludes, I will take bit of a small break, because honestly I don't know how I want to go about continuing the story; don't get me wrong, I have PLENTY of plot ideas for other arcs, but as far as the peacetime arcs, I don't know if I want to keep them in this story, or restrict them to their own story and just do time-skips to get to the other following main arcs. You're all's input would be appreciated as well; I'd like to know how you'd want me to go about advancing Shooting Star Lovers.

But we've still got some time before this current arc ends, so, let's move on and I hope you all enjoy the newest chapter to Dark Impetus.

* * *

Shooting Star Lovers

Ch.9 Dark Impetus, Part 3 – Darkest Hour, Part 2

* * *

" _I win!"_

 _A small white-haired girl cheered as she held a wooden blade in hand; grinning as much as she could, the young boy on the ground before her blowing air from his mouth to blow the strands of his hair away from his face._

" _I LET you have that win, Seira." he lied, embarrassed that after all their small playful sword encounters, he had finally been defeated._

" _Sure~~~...whatever you say, Solo." Seira rolled her eyes as she struck the wooden sword into the ground before laying back, staring up at the clear sky. "Just admit it, you lost fair and square."_

" _Did not..." he mumbled._

"Sore loser." she smirked and retorted.

" _Keep that up, and I'm throwing mud in your face."_

" _Try me."_

 _The two stayed quiet for a moment before they sprinted up and went over to the edge of the small pond they were near, getting knee-deep in the water as their hands dug in, grabbing mound after mound of mud and chucking it at one another long until the sun began to set over the small island that floated in the sky; the only remnant that remained of the continent of Mu when it sunk below the seas long ago._

* * *

"….Lo…."

"Ngh...where..."

"Solo? You okay?" a voice pierced through the darkness as Solo slowly began to open his eyes to see Ace kneeling beside him.

"What do...you want…? Gah…!" Solo complained as he move his hand down to feel his cracked rib. The pain was just searing, but he had felt worse injuries before.

"Hey, take it easy there; you're not exactly in the best of shape right now from the looks of it." Ace replied as he tried to help Solo up, only for his hands to be cast aside.

"I don't need help...nor do I want it..." he grimaced in pain as he stood up himself before looking over. "They're who you should probably check on." he motioned over to Mega and Lyra.

Ace sighed before getting up himself. "YOU stay put. I need to know what happened here, and I'm wanting some answers." he added before moving over to check on the two Wizards.

"Ace, my scanners indicate there is no major damage to their form or data. They seem to be intact." Acid relayed as Ace brought up his own VG Ring toward the two before transferring them inside of it.

"Hope you don't mind, Acid, it's going to be a little cramped til we get back. If you can, do a thorough scan just to be safe. One can never be too cautious."

"Affirmative." Acid replied.

Ace turned his attention back to Solo while the white-haired man picked up Destructix and it reverted back to Laplace; the Murian EM being hovering beside its master now.

"First things first; we're going to HQ and you ARE getting that looked at. Then once Mega and Lyra come to, you can tell me what exactly went on here."

"Think I'll pass...Laplace!" Solo ordered as he was surrounded in EM waves and vanished before Ace's eyes.

"Did you honestly think he would comply?" Acid asked.

Ace could only sigh. "No...but then again I keep forgetting how hard-headed he can be. Seems like Geo's the only one that can ever knock some sense into him. Let's head back now; we're wasting time, and something tells me it's something Geo and Sonia don't have a lot of right now."

* * *

In the dark sub-dimension deep beneath the Bermuda Maze:

"Geo! Wake up! PLEASE!" Harp Note cried out as Mega Man began to stir momentarily, his vision slowly returning to him; his first sight seeing Harp Note suspended in the air before him, instinctively he attempted to move, but the energy bands kept him bound and in place.

"Sonia! Are you alright!?" he asked concernedly.

"I'm fine...but...where are we?" Harp Note replied, a worried look troubling her face as she looked at her surroundings.

"You've been here before, I believe. We're in a dimension deep below the center of the Bermuda Maze." a voice called out in response as a portal opened up, Aether sauntered her way out. "It's not far from the spot that Mu once rested beneath the waves of this world. Common knowledge that was instilled into us at a young age."

"Mu? So then...you're a Murian, like Solo, aren't you?" Harp Note questioned.

Aether snapped as she warped away and appeared in front of Harp Note, slapping her hard across the face. "Don't you DARE mention his name around me! Not after the pain I was put through!"

"Sonia!" Mega Man cried out. "Leave her alone! Mega!"

He heard no response...then he realized he couldn't feel Mega's presence within him. Had they been separated?

"You know what…?" Aether said as she produced a clear orb in her hand. "For that little outburst, I changed my mind. I WAS going to force you to fight against waves of Shadow Specters. But I've got something better in mind. And I'm sure my master will agree; he gets what he desires in the end regardless." she added, moving her hand and cupping Harp Note's chin in it, the red bruise now apparent on the side of her face.

"Listen, Aether...Seira, you're being controlled! I don't know who this 'master' is, but he's filling your head with lies! From how he acted, I know there's no way Solo..."

His sentence was cut off by a strong shock of dark energy being sent over his whole body.

"AAAAAAAHHHH!"

"What did I just get through telling her? That applies to YOU as well." she shot a look of discontent at him as Harp Note looked on in horror as Mega Man was systematically tortured in front of her eyes.

" **The moment is here...begin the energy siphoning. Time is of the essence. And my patience is wearing thin."** The master's voice called out to Aether.

"At once, master." Aether said as the bindings suspending Mega Man and Harp Note vanished and let them fall to the floor; her hand raising up to let the clear orb float above them as it glowed brightly, before firing out two beams of light toward the two heroes, creating a black collar around their necks.

"Wh...what is this?" Harp Note wondered as she moved her free hands toward it, only for a mild shock to cause her to withdraw them.

"That should be the least of your worries..." Aether replied as she watched Mega Man rise to his feet. "Like I said, the original plan was to put you both through a gauntlet, but this will be far more effective."

"What do you mean?" Harp Note asked, before she was interrupted as Mega Man dashed towards her and fired his Mega Buster at her a few times before moving in up close and kneeing her in the back as she felt to the floor.

"Sonia!" Mega Man cried out as he watched her fall, the collar now glowing red; and he was no longer in control of his body.

Harp Note rose up to her feet, but not of her own will; as her collar also glowed brightly, accessing the Battle Cards in her VG Brace as she activated a Sword Battle Card and slashed at Mega Man, hitting him directly in the chest; forcing him down to the floor in pain,

"No! Geo...I'm sorry! I...I'm not doing this myself...my body...it's moving on it's own..."

"Observant, but obvious." Aether quipped. "With each blow you two deal to each other, you'll slowly lose more and more energy, until that orb is completely filled, and my master's seal will be broken."

" _ **And once their lives teeter on the edge of death...The Lights of Aegis will awaken within; and I shall claim that vast power, and all of existence will tremble before me once again."**_ The master thought to himself.

* * *

At WAZA:

"Owww..." Mega groan as he finally came to. "PLEASE tell me someone got the license plate on that Hertz Truck..."

"You are ridiculous, you know that?" Lyra looked down at him with an unamused look on her face.

"Then you mind telling me what happened out there? Because I can't remember a thing."

"Oh great...he has brain damage now." Lyra retorted, then pondered a moment. "If that's even a thing for Wizards."

"We'll I'm glad to see you two didn't sustain any major damage. That's a plus." Ace added in as he watched Mega sit up and rub his head a bit.

"I mean...I KINDA remember this crazy chick that triggered whenever that Solo was around her. And by triggered, I mean mad enough to throw him through the wringer."

"And us, apparently. Whoever she is, she had enough power to split us from Geo and Sonia, and took them who knows where." Lyra looked down as she wondered and worried for Sonia's well-being. She was away the young woman had already been through a lot with the recent nightmares.

"Anything else you can tell us? Because we can't pick up their Transcode Numbers anywhere." Jack turned in the chair he was in as he kept an eye on the radar, hoping to find some trace of his friends.

"All I really remember was getting my behind handed to me, thrashing around a couple of those...whatever those weird things were, and aforementioned said crazy chick." Mega explained.

" She has to be connected to Solo, though. She could Wave Change just like him, and she had a Murian Star Carrier." Lyra added in.

"I knew Solo might have known more about what happened there. I should have just followed my better judgment and hauled him back here while he was still out of it." Ace sighed.

"I would not have advised that, honestly." Acid added.

"Even if you brought him here, once he came to, he'd just likely raise hell and bust out." Jack also inputted. "Probably would have taken out a couple EM officers while he was at it."

"Ewww...yeah, you're right; that would have been the worst case scenario." Ace replied.

"So what do we do!? Wait around twiddling our thumbs while Geo and Sonia are out there having to go through who knows what!" Lyra snapped.

"Geez, Lyr...you're really on edge, and I mean, more than usual; most of the time it's something I do." Mega asked a bit worriedly.

"It's...those things we fought..." Lyra began to say. "Sonia's been having nightmares recently. She wouldn't give me all the details; she only told me how there were these black humanoid beings in her dreams, and when we got to Wilshire Hills, she froze up upon seeing those Shadow Specters."

"Here's an idea, then. This Murian girl is obviously someone Solo's hellbent on tracking down. Maybe we can use that to our advantage." Jack turned in the chair and got up. "We keep tabs on his Transcode Number, provided he doesn't block it. We simply let him do the searching for us."

"Might as well. We got nothing to lose at this point." Ace replied and sighed as he rested back in his chair.

Lyra could only look down, wondering on Sonia's well-being.

"We'll find them, Lyra...don't worry." Mega said placing his hand on her shoulder.

"She's suppose to be planning the happiest day of her life and moving towards her future...then why; why does this stuff always happen to us; to her?" Lyra choked as she rested her hand atop Mega's.

* * *

Solo wearily walked towards the edge of the sandy dunes near the sea, looking out as the sun began to set over the horizon as he pulled his battered Star Carrier out and brought up an air display, looking at the map it produced as a faint signal marked out far in the ocean; a spot he knew all to well; to the normal eye, it was just the sea, but in the Wave World, it was the entry point to the Bermuda Maze; where the home of his ancestors once rested deep beneath the dark waters.

"Seira..." Solo uttered as he placed his hand against his rib as he felt the pain surge through him from the injury. But he knew he had no time to rest.

Seira needed him.


End file.
